Where the data comes from
Every lead comes from public building permit records. Each city publishes on its own schedule, so here's exactly how fresh each one is. The numbers on this page update on their own.
Houston
| Source | City of Houston Permitting Center: Sold permits reports |
|---|---|
| What the city publishes | A weekly Excel report of every building permit sold that week |
| How often the city publishes | About once a week |
| Typical delay | Usually 1 to 2 weeks between the permit date and when the report is posted |
| How often we check | Every morning at 8 AM Central |
| Last checked | Oct 28 at 8:10 AM Central |
| Newest permit we have | Oct 18, 2026 (10 days ago) |
| History | Since Jan 5, 2026 |
| New homes in 2026 | 4,149 (323 in the latest four weeks) |
| What counts as a new home | Permits described as a new single-family house, duplex or townhouse. Remodels, repairs, additions, pools, demolitions and garage conversions are left out. |
Fort Worth
| Source | City of Fort Worth Development Services: CFW Development Permits Table (Fort Worth open data) |
|---|---|
| What the city publishes | A live open-data table of every development permit the city handles |
| How often the city publishes | Every business day (updated hourly) |
| Typical delay | Usually 1 day |
| How often we check | Every morning at 8 AM Central |
| Last checked | Oct 28 at 8:10 AM Central |
| Newest permit we have | Oct 27, 2026 (1 day ago) |
| History | Since Jan 2, 2026 |
| New homes in 2026 | 5,127 (261 in the latest four weeks) |
| What counts as a new home | Residential building permits for new construction that the city has issued. The permit date is the day it was issued when available, otherwise the day it was filed. City of Fort Worth only. |
Austin
| Source | City of Austin Development Services: Issued Construction Permits (Austin open data) |
|---|---|
| What the city publishes | A live open-data feed of every construction permit the city issues |
| How often the city publishes | Every business day |
| Typical delay | Usually 1 day |
| How often we check | Every morning at 8 AM Central |
| Last checked | Oct 28 at 8:10 AM Central |
| Newest permit we have | Oct 27, 2026 (1 day ago) |
| History | Since Jan 2, 2026 |
| New homes in 2026 | 1,952 (183 in the latest four weeks) |
| What counts as a new home | New building permits the city classes as single-family houses (R-101) or two-family buildings (R-103). City of Austin only; suburbs like Round Rock and Pflugerville aren't included. |
San Antonio
| Source | City of San Antonio Development Services: Building Permits: Permits Issued (San Antonio open data) |
|---|---|
| What the city publishes | A spreadsheet of every permit the city has issued since 2025 |
| How often the city publishes | Every few days |
| Typical delay | Usually 2 to 4 days |
| How often we check | Every morning at 8 AM Central |
| Last checked | Oct 28 at 8:10 AM Central |
| Newest permit we have | Oct 23, 2026 (5 days ago) |
| History | Since Jan 1, 2026 |
| New homes in 2026 | 3,115 (210 in the latest four weeks) |
| What counts as a new home | Permits the city files as "Res New Building Permit" with work type "New". Includes new homes in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), where many new subdivisions are. |
Dallas
| Source | City of Dallas Development Services: Building Permits (Dallas open data) |
|---|---|
| What the city publishes | An open-data feed of every building permit the city issues |
| How often the city publishes | Every day |
| Typical delay | Usually 1 day |
| How often we check | Every morning at 8 AM Central |
| Last checked | Oct 28 at 8:10 AM Central |
| Newest permit we have | Oct 27, 2026 (1 day ago) |
| History | Since Jan 2, 2026 |
| New homes in 2026 | 2,027 (240 in the latest four weeks) |
| What counts as a new home | Residential new construction permits: single-family homes, duplexes and townhomes. Accessory dwellings and pools are left out. City of Dallas only; suburbs like Plano and Frisco aren't included. |
What this means for you
- Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth leads usually show up the day after the city issues the permit. San Antonio leads show up within a few days.
- Houston leads show up when the city posts its weekly report, usually 1 to 2 weeks after the permit date. That's still well before the house is built, which takes months.
- We check every city every morning, so new permits appear on the site the same day the city publishes them.
- The Monday email includes every new home added in your zip codes over the past 7 days, from every city.
- "Last four weeks" on the site means the four weeks up to each city's newest permit, so Houston's delay doesn't make it look emptier.
Cities occasionally correct or re-issue records. We keep each permit once, by its permit number.