What housing permits do — and don’t — say about development

Building permits offer a forward-looking measure of where developers intend to add housing, but they do not show whether those homes were completed, affordable or sufficient to meet demand. A Montana Free Press analysis found that Gallatin County permitted housing at the state’s highest per-capita rate during both halves of the past decade. Officials and developers said five-year averages help smooth fluctuations caused by large apartment projects, but permitting remains only one part of a housi...