Brownsville permitted 2.5 times as many new homes in 2025 as in 2015
Cameron County, Texas. Each week we look at what launch sites do to the land and towns around them, one region at a time, using public data.
From the sponsor of Brownsville Fund →Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, annual place files. A permit authorizes construction. It does not count finished homes.
Show the numbers
| Year | All units | In 5+ unit buildings |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 565 | 0 |
| 2016 | 572 | 0 |
| 2017 | 581 | 0 |
| 2018 | 665 | 0 |
| 2019 | 937 | 172 |
| 2020 | 970 | 125 |
| 2021 | 1,129 | 156 |
| 2022 | 1,170 | 353 |
| 2023 | 824 | 73 |
| 2024 | 1,070 | 364 |
| 2025 | 1,421 | 606 |
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Homes
Brownsville permitted 1,421 new housing units in 2025, the most since 2005. 606 of them were in buildings of five or more units, more than in any year back to 2000.
U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2000 to 2025 annual files
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Space
On Sept. 21, 2026, the City of Starbase, home of SpaceX's Starship launch site, approved annexing about 7,133 acres on a landowner petition. The city itself only incorporated in May 2025.
City of Starbase, Ordinance 2026-26
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Port
The Port of Brownsville reports 28 million tons of cargo in fiscal 2025, more than double 2021. On Sept. 30, 2026, Saronic broke ground there on its Port Alpha shipyard, on 835 acres.
Port of Brownsville, June 12, 2026 and Sept. 30, 2026
New homes, a launch city adding land, and a port building out: three kinds of demand landing on the same county's ground.
Data as of Oct 30, 2026. Past trends do not predict future results.
Brownsville Fund
Lashbrook Growth Fund sponsors Brownsville Fund, a planned private real estate fund focused on Brownsville, Texas. Since 2021 we have bought, held, and sold land in and around Brownsville. The city is growing, and we want more people to have a seat at the table.
Visit Brownsville FundFollowing the Louisiana coast too? We also sponsor Louisiana Space Coast Fund, a planned private real estate fund focused on land, and options to buy land, in coastal Acadiana, Louisiana, starting in Vermilion Parish.
Planned private funds. Brownsville Fund’s terms are in its information packet. Louisiana Space Coast Fund’s terms are not final. Accredited investors only, each one verified before investing. Past economic growth and Lashbrook Growth Fund’s past results do not predict either fund’s results, and an investment in either fund could lose money. Neither fund is affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by the City of Brownsville, the City of Starbase, the Port of Brownsville, NASA, any space or launch company, or any government agency.
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