Anchorage had issued permits for 532 new housing units by the end of October, already more than the city recorded in any full year since 2015 (via Municipality of Anchorage).
The Nov. 10 release from Mayor Suzanne LaFrance's office says this year's total is more than double 2023's, the year before LaFrance took office. Anchorage permitted 400 new units in all of 2025.
Apartments and other multifamily buildings are doing most of the lifting. The city has permitted 305 multifamily units this year, the highest total in records going back to 2011. That's nearly nine times the 2024 figure and about 84% more than last year.
The city gives much of the credit to a multifamily property tax incentive the Assembly approved in 2025 at the mayor's request. Alaska's News Source reported in June that the program lets new rental projects of eight or more units skip property taxes on the building, while still paying on the land, for at least 20 years. A municipal briefing to the Assembly in August said the abatement can run up to 28 years and credited it with 386 new units over two years.
The release names three projects that moved into construction under the incentive: Debenham's Raspberry Townhomes in West Anchorage, Cook Inlet Housing Authority's The Nest in East Anchorage and Touchmark Senior Living in South Anchorage. Raspberry, on Northwood Drive, was the first to break ground under the program. Alaska's News Source reported it as 58 market-rate rentals due in 2027, with projected rents of $2,400 for a one-bedroom and $2,800 for a two-bedroom. Developer Shaun Debenham told the station the project likely wouldn't have been financially feasible without the tax break and other city accommodations.
Renovations count, too. The mayor's "10,000 Homes in Ten Years" strategy aims for 1,000 new or renovated homes a year. In 2025 the city got about 75% of the way there, with 400 new units and at least 350 major rehab projects. Permits this year point to about 300 major renovations, which the city says puts it on track for at least 80% of the 2026 goal.
"The Municipality doesn't build homes, set mortgage rates, or control housing prices," LaFrance said in the release, adding that the city can make it "easier, faster, and less expensive for our private and nonprofit partners" to build.
Beyond tax breaks, the city points to simpler land-use codes, shorter permit reviews and code enforcement on vacant and unsafe properties. The August briefing listed changes that matter to remodelers. A separate rehab tax abatement offers up to 10 years of relief on units that had been vacant or abandoned and has supported 10 projects so far. Revised nonconformity rules mean owners don't have to fix unrelated issues during a rehab. The building code has been updated to the 2024 international codes, and provisional trades licensing is on the list of next steps.
The need is still well ahead of the pace. An Agnew::Beck analysis cited by the city says Anchorage will need about 11,800 more housing units by 2035. About 3,100 of those are tied to population trends and overcrowding, and about 8,700 are existing homes that need rehab or replacement because of age and condition.
Military growth adds pressure. Alaska Public Media reported in August that city officials expect about 2,500 military families to arrive over five years as part of the planned Fightertown buildup at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, with about $7 billion in military funding. Base housing is at capacity, so most of those families are expected to live in town.
Zoning is still in play. The Assembly has spent the fall taking testimony on the Missing Middle Housing Opportunity Overlay, which would allow fourplexes, townhouses and cottage courts across much of Anchorage north of Tudor Road and along several major corridors, drop the minimum lot size and raise allowed lot coverage from 40% to 70%.
Why it matters for Contractors
The headline number is multifamily, and most of that work goes to developers and the general contractors and subs they hire. For framing, mechanical, electrical and finish subs, that's the most multifamily permit activity in city records going back to 2011.
For smaller shops, the bigger long-term story may be rehab. The city's own analysis says roughly three of every four homes Anchorage needs by 2035 are existing units that need fixing or replacing. A tax break for reviving vacant units and a rule change that keeps owners from being forced into unrelated fixes both make rehab jobs easier to pencil for the property owners who'd hire you.
If you want to track where the work is, the municipality posts a housing permit dashboard linked from the release.