Ohio new construction report — Q1 2026
The bottom line
Ohio's residential permit volume is down 11% quarter-on-quarter — a cooling signal. Some of this is seasonal (construction slows in Q4 + Q1 in many markets); some may be structural. Operators serving this state should pay attention to which builders are still active versus those who are pulling back, and consider whether competitive accounts are vulnerable.
Top movers this quarter
The Ohio counties with the biggest quarter-on-quarter permit-volume change. Click any county for the full local market dashboard.
- Franklin County: 419 permits this quarter (-295 vs 714 prior quarter).
- Delaware County: 430 permits this quarter (-53 vs 483 prior quarter).
- Greene County: 101 permits this quarter (+48 vs 53 prior quarter).
- Madison County: 48 permits this quarter (-45 vs 93 prior quarter).
- Clermont County: 232 permits this quarter (+44 vs 188 prior quarter).
- Cuyahoga County: 134 permits this quarter (-31 vs 165 prior quarter).
Most-active builders
Licensed home builders in Ohio ranked by Q1 2026 permit count. Click any name for the builder's full profile, permit history, and county footprint.
Per-permit builder attribution for Ohio is limited this quarter. Per-permit feeds outside Florida are added quarterly — Ohio will deepen as we add county portals.
What this means for trade operators
If you're an LBM operator, roofing contractor, HVAC company, plumber, concrete crew, or any trade serving Ohio's new single-family construction market, this quarter's data points to a few practical actions:
- If you're not actively quoting the top 6 builders listed above, that's the call list for this week.
- If your service area covers any of the top-mover counties, you have leverage right now — builders there are scaling and looking for capacity.
- If you're considering expansion into Ohio, the Ohio dashboard has all counties scored against the trade you select. Drive-time analysis from your existing yard tells you which counties are reachable today.
This report is automatically refreshed every quarter from Census Bureau Building Permits Survey data plus county public records. The methodology is documented in our Census BPS data explainer.
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