Massachusetts building-permit intelligence
Weekly report · October 26 to November 01, 2026

Massachusetts Building Activity Report

Building-permit filings across 76 Massachusetts communities for the week of October 26 to November 01, 2026, compared with the week before. Compiled from municipal permit records by masspermits.com.

3,185
permits filed this week
-6%
vs prior week (3,330 permits)
$84.4M
total declared project value
$16K
median project value

Where activity spiked

Top 5 towns by week-over-week increase in permit filings (minimum 8 permits).

#1 spike
Lenox
▲+93% (+25 permits)
52 permits this week · 27 the week before
Most active: Building & Electrical · all Lenox permits →
#2 spike
Milton
▲+70% (+28 permits)
68 permits this week · 40 the week before
Most active: Renovation/Remodel & Electrical · all Milton permits →
#3 spike
Chatham
▲+88% (+23 permits)
49 permits this week · 26 the week before
Median project $30K · largest $1.4M
Most active: Roofing & Building · all Chatham permits →
#4 spike
Worcester
▲+38% (+129 permits)
467 permits this week · 338 the week before
Most active: Electrical & Plumbing · all Worcester permits →
#5 spike
North Reading
▲+84% (+16 permits)
35 permits this week · 19 the week before
Most active: Renovation/Remodel & Electrical · all North Reading permits →

Most active towns

Permits filed last week, with spike towns highlighted in green.

Worcester467Cambridge175Falmouth161Mashpee136Attleboro112Lexington111Somerville111Chicopee109Easton81Braintree81

What's being built

Trade mix across all permits filed last week.

Electrical807
Renovation/Remodel554
Plumbing433
Gas404
Building340
HVAC169
Roofing115
Other91

Notable projects in spike towns

Largest projects by declared valuation. Street numbers withheld for privacy.

TownStreetTradeWork Valuation
ChathamMain StHVACInterior renovation and brand refresh of the existing Cape Cod 5 Bank at 548 Main Street, $1,400,000
ChathamCrosby LnDemolitionConstruct a two story 4,579 square foot four- bedroom single family dwelling with unfinish$1,315,000
ChathamCrosstree HlwWindows/Doors/SidingReplace 37 windows and 11 exterior doors, new sidewall$369,404

Past weeks

Every weekly report keeps its own permanent URL.

2026-10-25 · 2026-10-18 · 2026-10-11 · 2026-10-04 · 2026-09-27 · 2026-09-20 · 2026-09-13 · 2026-09-06 · 2026-08-30 · 2026-08-23 · 2026-08-16

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Republishing this?

Every figure above is compiled from public municipal records and is free to cite with attribution. The method, the sources behind each number and what those sources do not publish are documented at masspermits.com/research/methodology, and the full source-by-source coverage table is at /research/coverage.