What changed in DFW
Housing authorizations moved in different directions
| DFW authorization measure | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| All housing units authorized | 71,788 | 66,179 | -7.8% |
| Single-unit authorizations | 46,440 | 39,790 | -14.3% |
| Structures with 5+ units | 624 | 786 | +26.0% |
These Census records count authorizations for new privately owned housing in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington CBSA. They do not count starts, completed projects, electrical permits, awarded work, contractor revenue, bid access, or job margin. The 624 and 786 figures count structures; authorizations for housing units in those structures rose from 23,150 to 24,607, or 6.3%.
Before you hire
Decide what you can sell and deliver
Keep building single-family work
This can make sense when current builder relationships still produce acceptable jobs and your backlog supports the crew you already have.
- List backlog and expected gross profit by builder.
- Find other builders that fit your work before one customer becomes too much of the schedule.
- Do not treat a metro decline as proof that every builder or service area is shrinking.
Check specific multifamily work
This can make sense when you know the owner, developer, or GC and can get on the bid list or complete prequalification for work that fits your company.
- Name the project, customer, and electrical scope.
- Check schedule, bonding, safety, insurance, experience, cash timing, and supervision.
- Do not build a crew around a permit count.
Wait to hire
Waiting is reasonable when you cannot verify the work, customer, timing, bid process, costs, or margin without putting booked work at risk.
- Keep a list of customers and jobs worth watching.
- Check again when a project, contact, or prequalification requirement changes.
- A new payroll and truck payment need more support than a market headline.
Before you add payroll
Use a 30-day hiring check
The 5-3-2-1 count below is a hypothetical company rule, not a DFW benchmark, expected conversion rate, or guarantee.
- 5List five real customers or GCs
Use actual builders, owners, GCs, property managers, or other customers. A broad market category does not count.
- 3Confirm how three accept bids or estimates
Find the contact, bid list, invitation, or prequalification step and record what your company must provide.
- 2Find specific work and a next step for two within 30 days
Record the project or recurring need, electrical scope, timing, next call or submission, and any known reason your company would not qualify.
- 1Price and check one job
Check the bid against job costs, added hiring and truck costs, available cash, collection timing, supervision, and the profit and margin your company requires.
If you cannot identify specific work and a next step for at least two customers or GCs within 30 days, pause the hire. Change the customer list, the kind of work, or what you are offering before taking on the added cost.
Printable tool
One hiring sheet for each customer or GC
Print one copy for each customer or GC. Complete the profit and cash fields before adding a crew or truck.
Customer or GC
Builder, owner, property manager, or purchasing contact
Bid list, estimate request, or prequalification step
Specific project, recurring work, or service call
Electrical scope your crew can perform
License, insurance, safety, bonding, and experience requirements
Expected bid, award, and start dates
Current backlog and available supervision
Revenue, materials, subcontractors, payroll, and other job costs
Required profit floor: $____
Required margin: ____%
Available uncommitted cash: $____
One-time hiring and equipment costs: $____
Collection-delay reserve: $____
Profitability check: pass / fail
Cash check: pass / fail
Hiring decision: hire / wait
Next step, owner, and date
Reason to stop pursuing the work
- Choose the kind of work you want to test.
- Complete five customer sheets.
- Assign the next step and date for each.
- Review the results after 30 days before you hire.
Worked examples
Run the hiring question through your own company
A three-crew company has 45% of its next 90 days of booked work tied to two single-family builders. No other builder has invited an estimate for a job that fits the schedule, so the owner waits. An awarded job that passes the hiring sheet's profit and cash checks would change the decision.
A service-heavy company knows a GC prequalifying subcontractors for common-area electrical and service upgrades. The scope, schedule, bid requirements, insurance, license coverage, and supervision fit the company.
Decision: wait. Hire only when available cash reaches $30,000 or payment terms reduce the reserve to $11,000 or less, while profit and supervision still pass.
These are hypothetical company numbers, not DFW benchmarks. A collection-delay reserve is cash kept available while waiting to be paid, not an expense.
Sources and limits
What the public records can and cannot decide
Permit authorizations are local construction approvals, not a forecast of work or profit for one contractor.