# Frontera Signal

> A weekly construction report for the Rio Grande Valley, Texas: building permits by city, building-input prices, labor conditions, housing supply, commercial projects filed with the state, parcel records, and dated forecasts with grades. Published every Sunday in English and Spanish. Every figure carries an as-of date, its age and its cadence. Costs are given as ranges, and private bid prices are never published.

## Read

- [Latest issue (English)](https://fronterasignal.com/): home page with the newest weekly issue
- [Última edición (español)](https://fronterasignal.com/es/)
- [Archive](https://fronterasignal.com/archive/)
- [Methodology](https://fronterasignal.com/methodology/): status labels such as DARK and STALE, and how forecasts are graded
- [About](https://fronterasignal.com/about/): who publishes it and how it stays independent
- [Corrections](https://fronterasignal.com/corrections/): every correction, dated
- [Full text of every issue](https://fronterasignal.com/llms-full.txt): issues as Markdown, chart data as tables
- RSS: [English](https://fronterasignal.com/rss.xml), [español](https://fronterasignal.com/es/rss.xml)

## Issues

- [Mortgage rate holds at 7.40% as new Valley commercial work tops $20 million](https://fronterasignal.com/issues/2026-w42/) (2026-10-18, English): The 30-year rate was unchanged from last week. McAllen still has 8.9 months of supply, and two large packages finished their accessibility reviews.
- [Mortgage rate climbs to 7.40% as Hakes cuts unsold Valley homes](https://fronterasignal.com/issues/2026-w41/) (2026-10-11, English): The 30-year rate rose to 7.40% from 7.28%. McAllen still has 8.9 months of supply, and Hakes is advertising 5.25%.
- [Mortgage rate jumps to 7.28% as McAllen sits on 8.9 months of homes for sale](https://fronterasignal.com/issues/2026-w40/) (2026-10-04, English): The 30-year rate rose a quarter point in a week. McAllen had 8.9 months of supply in July, and Hakes Brothers is advertising a 4.75% fixed rate.
- [Mortgage rates top 7% as McAllen home permits fall again](https://fronterasignal.com/issues/2026-w39/) (2026-09-27, English): The 30-year rate hit 7.03%, and McAllen-area home permits fell to 431 in August. This week's starts are commercial shells and tenant finish-outs.
- [La tasa a 30 años se mantiene en 7.40% y la obra comercial nueva supera $20 millones](https://fronterasignal.com/es/issues/2026-w42/) (2026-10-18, español): La tasa hipotecaria no se movió frente a la semana pasada. McAllen sigue con 8.9 meses de inventario y dos paquetes cerraron la revisión de accesibilidad.
- [La tasa hipotecaria sube a 7.40% y Hakes recorta casas sin comprador](https://fronterasignal.com/es/issues/2026-w41/) (2026-10-11, español): La tasa a 30 años en EE.UU. pasó de 7.28% a 7.40%. McAllen sigue en 8.9 meses de inventario y Hakes anuncia 5.25%.
- [La tasa hipotecaria salta a 7.28% y McAllen acumula 8.9 meses de inventario](https://fronterasignal.com/es/issues/2026-w40/) (2026-10-04, español): La tasa a 30 años subió un cuarto de punto en una semana. McAllen tenía 8.9 meses de inventario en julio y Hakes Brothers anuncia una tasa fija de 4.75%.
- [La tasa hipotecaria supera el 7% y los permisos de vivienda en McAllen vuelven a caer](https://fronterasignal.com/es/issues/2026-w39/) (2026-09-27, español): La tasa a 30 años llegó a 7.03% y la zona metro de McAllen autorizó 431 viviendas en agosto. Esta semana arrancan cascarones y adecuaciones comerciales.

## Data for agents

- [Free JSON, latest 4 weeks](https://fronterasignal.com/data/v1/index.json): no payment, no key
- [Free samples](https://fronterasignal.com/data/v1/samples/index.json): one real answer per paid endpoint
- [API catalog](https://fronterasignal.com/api/v1): paid endpoints, prices, parameters and when to use each
- [OpenAPI 3.1](https://fronterasignal.com/openapi.json): response schemas, examples and every error code
- [x402 discovery](https://fronterasignal.com/.well-known/x402) and [agent card](https://fronterasignal.com/.well-known/agent-card.json)
- [Health](https://fronterasignal.com/api/v1/health) and [changelog](https://fronterasignal.com/api/v1/changelog.json)
- [MCP server](https://fronterasignal.com/mcp): free and read-only, Streamable HTTP. Tools: list_endpoints, get_sample, how_to_pay, get_free_series
- [Parcel match check](https://fronterasignal.com/api/v1/parcel/match?address=800+S+10th+St&city=McAllen): free, 20 lookups a minute per IP address. Use before /api/v1/parcel so you only pay for addresses that match. Same parameters, same matching, no charge.

Paid calls use x402 v2, USDC on Base; retry with PAYMENT-SIGNATURE. An unpaid request returns HTTP 402 with a JSON body (price, what the call returns, a free sample, docs) and a PAYMENT-REQUIRED header. Bad or unknown parameters get a free 400, and a valid query with nothing to return gets a free 404, before any payment. The nearby and parcel endpoints look up the address after the payment is verified; if they cannot place it, the answer is a 404 and the payment is not settled.

Prices per call: building material shelf prices $0.01, city construction snapshot $0.02, company track record $0.02, new commercial projects $0.03, projects near an address $0.03, filed cost per square foot $0.03, parcel record for an address $0.04, full history of a weekly series $0.05, housing permits by month $0.05, weekly briefing as JSON $0.25.

## When to call what

- City construction snapshot, $0.02: /api/v1/snapshot?city=McAllen. One Valley city's (or the whole Valley's) latest permits, monthly housing permits by structure type, sales-tax receipts, housing supply, building-input and material prices, labor conditions, newest commercial projects and this morning's mortgage rate, 10-year yield and diesel price, every value dated. Answers questions like "Is McAllen's housing market oversupplied and are building costs rising this week?" Sample: https://fronterasignal.com/data/v1/samples/snapshot.json
- New commercial projects, $0.03: /api/v1/projects?city=McAllen&limit=5. Commercial projects filed with the state before they build: name, address, owner, design firm, estimated cost, square feet, start and end dates, newest first. Answers questions like "What commercial projects were registered in Hidalgo County since Sept 1, who owns them and how big are they?" Sample: https://fronterasignal.com/data/v1/samples/projects.json
- Company track record, $0.02: /api/v1/companies?name=independent+school+district. For each matching owner, design firm or licensed contractor business: project count, total and largest filed cost, cities, first and last filing, its 10 newest projects and its state trade licenses (type, current or expired, expiry, county). Answers questions like "How many projects has this developer filed in the Valley since 2024, and how large was the biggest one?" Sample: https://fronterasignal.com/data/v1/samples/companies.json
- Projects near an address, $0.03: /api/v1/nearby?address=1201+E+Capote+Central+Ave&city=Pharr&radius_mi=2. Filed commercial projects within a radius of a Valley street address: how many, their summed and largest filed cost, a split by type of work, and each project with its distance and map point, nearest first. Answers questions like "How many commercial projects were filed within two miles of 1201 E Capote Central Ave, Pharr, and what are they worth?" Sample: https://fronterasignal.com/data/v1/samples/nearby.json
- Parcel record for an address, $0.04: /api/v1/parcel?address=800+S+10th+St&city=McAllen. The Hidalgo County parcel at a street address: parcel and map ids, property class, acres, year built, building square feet, last deed date and type, market, appraised and assessed values with their date, taxing units, the owner when it is an organization, and flood map status. Answers questions like "What is the parcel id, building size and market value of 800 S 10th St, McAllen?" Sample: https://fronterasignal.com/data/v1/samples/parcel.json
- Filed cost per square foot, $0.03: /api/v1/cost-per-sqft?county=Hidalgo. Median and middle half (25th to 75th percentile) of filed cost per square foot by county and type of work, with n and the date range. Answers questions like "What does new commercial construction cost per square foot in Hidalgo County right now?" Sample: https://fronterasignal.com/data/v1/samples/cost-per-sqft.json
- Building material shelf prices, $0.01: /api/v1/materials?item=osb. Dated shelf prices for common building materials at Valley big-box stores and a local yard, newest price per item and store first. Answers questions like "What does a sheet of 7/16 OSB cost in McAllen this week?" Sample: https://fronterasignal.com/data/v1/samples/materials.json
- Building permits by week, $0.05: /api/v1/series/permits-weekly. Building-permit counts by Valley city, permit class and ISO week, each row reported, dark or no_reading. Answers questions like "Are McAllen single-family permits up or down over the last two months?" Sample: https://fronterasignal.com/data/v1/samples/series-permits-weekly.json
- Housing permits by month, $0.05: /api/v1/series/permits-monthly?place=Brownsville&from=2026-01. New housing units and buildings authorized by permit each month, by structure type (single-family, 2 units, 3-4 units, 5 or more) with valuation, for Valley cities and unincorporated county areas, plus each year-to-date total. Answers questions like "How many single-family homes did Brownsville permit each month this year?" Sample: https://fronterasignal.com/data/v1/samples/series-permits-monthly.json
- Building-input prices by week, $0.05: /api/v1/series/cost-basket-weekly. Level, unit and direction (up, down, flat) of framing lumber, studs, OSB, drywall, rebar, copper, diesel, the 30-year mortgage rate and the construction producer price index, by week. Answers questions like "Has framing lumber gone up or down since August?" Sample: https://fronterasignal.com/data/v1/samples/series-cost-basket-weekly.json
- Housing supply by week, $0.05: /api/v1/series/absorption. Months of supply, homes for sale, homes sold, days on market and typical home value for the McAllen and Brownsville metros, as read each week. Answers questions like "Is the McAllen metro carrying more than six months of housing supply?" Sample: https://fronterasignal.com/data/v1/samples/series-absorption.json
- Labor and financing conditions, $0.05: /api/v1/series/labor-ranges. Build time for a 2,100 sq ft house, the immigration-enforcement climate and the construction-loan trend in the Valley, by week. Answers questions like "How long does it take to build a 2,100 sq ft house in the Valley right now?" Sample: https://fronterasignal.com/data/v1/samples/series-labor-ranges.json
- Forecast track record, $0.05: /api/v1/series/calls. Every dated forecast Frontera Signal has made, with its resolve-by date and grade (HIT, MISS, PUSH, OPEN). Answers questions like "How many of Frontera Signal's forecasts have been graded HIT?" Sample: https://fronterasignal.com/data/v1/samples/series-calls.json
- Weekly briefing as JSON, $0.25: /api/v1/issue?week=2026-W37&lang=en. One weekly briefing as JSON: title, summary, key figures with dates and sources, chart data and the full text, in English or Spanish. Answers questions like "What changed in Valley construction this week?" Sample: https://fronterasignal.com/data/v1/samples/issue.json

## Terms

Free data may be reused with attribution to Frontera Signal. Terms: https://fronterasignal.com/terms/