| City | Permits filed | High-priority | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York City | 1,404 | 633 | View → |
| Chicago | 272 | 60 | View → |
| San Francisco | 269 | 17 | View → |
| Miami-Dade | 123 | 32 | View → |
| Total | 2,068 | 742 |
Based on public permit filings reviewed by PermitPipeline. High-priority means graded A+ or A for contractor fit. Counts reflect available filing data and PermitPipeline's active-project rules as of the updated date.
Build a weekly pursuit list
Preconstruction and business development teams use permit filings to build a weekly pursuit list: the handful of new projects worth researching and pursuing this week, before they are obvious to competitors. The aim is not to chase every permit. It is to find the few that match your market, scope, size, and timing.
Prioritize by fit
- Define what a good project looks like: type, value range, location, building type.
- Pull recent filings, the last 7 to 30 days.
- Score each for location, scope, value, and owner, architect, and GC signals.
- Keep only the projects worth a pursuit.
Qualify before you estimate
The cost of a weak pipeline is wasted estimating hours. Permit data lets precon and estimating qualify an opportunity earlier: is it real, is it a fit, is it early enough to act, and who controls the decision? That reduces late-stage bid churn and poor-fit pursuits.
Owner, architect, and GC signals
Each filing shows who is already involved. Owner-led filings with no GC named yet may be worth owner or architect outreach. Filings with a GC named may be a path for subs. For the full workflow, read construction business development from permit data.
Handoff and the Daily Project Brief
PermitPipeline's Daily Project Brief surfaces scored projects each weekday so a BD or precon lead can answer one question: which projects are worth action this week? Qualified pursuits then hand off cleanly to estimating.
Frequently asked
What are preconstruction leads?
Preconstruction leads are early-stage projects, identified from permit filings, that BD and estimating teams qualify and pursue before they are widely visible.
How does this reduce wasted estimating time?
By qualifying fit, timing, and decision-maker signals before estimating starts, teams chase fewer late-stage or poor-fit opportunities.
What is the Daily Project Brief?
A weekday feed of scored, permit-backed projects matched to your city, trade, and project size, built to drive a weekly pursuit list.
See permit-backed projects that match your market
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Start free 14-day trial →Related guides
- BD workflow from permit data
- turn a filing into an outreach email
- what “no GC named” means
- permit timelines by city
Example weekly pursuit workflow
| Day | Action | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Review new filings | candidate list |
| Tuesday | Qualify scope, value, team | short list of pursuits |
| Wednesday | Research named parties | relationship path |
| Thursday | Outreach and follow-up | pipeline updates |
| Friday | Review status | next-week priorities |