July 2026
Buildings USA 2026.11 Release - Breaking Schema Changes
The Buildings USA 2026.11 release introduces breaking schema changes to the buildings_usa table and adds a new buildings_usa_names table. Customers who consume the Buildings USA data product must update their data pipelines, field mappings, and any downstream processes that reference the affected fields before upgrading to this release.
Please see the attached product zip sample file containing sample data and updated Data Schema. This file contains the changes described below and can be used to update your ETL scripts.
Overview of Changes
Building characteristic data has traditionally been sourced from Property Tax Assessment records - reliable at the parcel level, but without a direct link to the physical structure. Clients need these attributes tied to the actual building footprint geometry to drive accurate decisions, and that need is especially acute in insurance and telecommunications.
Insurance carriers use building-level attributes - construction type, condition, roof characteristics, foundation, and basement type - to model risk exposure and underwrite policies at the individual structure level. Telco and utility providers combine building footprint geometry with height, stories, and occupancy type to support network planning, small cell site selection, line-of-sight analysis, and serviceable address determination. In both industries, attribute-to-footprint linkage directly drives the quality of downstream decisions.
Two attributes in this release deserve special recognition. Building Height and Building Names are among the most requested additions in our clients' history with the product. Their inclusion in the Buildings USA schema is a milestone our clients have been waiting for.
This release delivers four categories of change:
- New fields in buildings_usa: 17 new building characteristic attributes have been added - Building Area, Building Heights (with and without roof objects), Building Stories Count, Year Built, Primary Building assignment, Mobile Home identification, Garage Type, Building Quality, Building Condition, Roof Slope, Exterior Walls, Basement Type, Foundation Type, Building Construction, Roof Cover, and Roof Shape.
- New table - buildings_usa_names: A new table containing a unique identifier (NAME_ID), building and complex names (BLDG_NAME), and building letters/numbers (ADDNUMBER2).
- Field length change in buildings_usa_addresses: The ADDR_ID field length has been reduced from 30 to 18 characters.
- File rename: The buildings_status_usa file has been renamed to buildings_usa_status.
Breaking Changes
buildings_usa - New Attributes
The 17 fields below are new in buildings_usa as of the 2026.11 release. Existing field positions are preserved. Schema migration will be required if downstream systems depend on positional column ordering.
|
Field Name
|
Friendly Name
|
Data Type
|
Description
|
|
BLDG_AREA
|
Building Area
|
INTEGER
|
Square footage for the entire building.
|
|
HGT_MAX
|
Building Max Height Without Roof Objects
|
INTEGER
|
Maximum height of the structure in feet, excluding potential roof objects like an antenna, overhanging tree, etc.
|
|
HGT_MAXO
|
Building Max Height With Roof Objects
|
INTEGER
|
Maximum height of the structure in feet, including potential roof objects like an antenna, overhanging tree, etc.
|
|
STORIES
|
Building Stories Count
|
TEXT(10)
|
Number of stories in a building. A number followed by a plus sign (+) indicates either a fractional story less than 1/2 (i.e. 2+) or an attic/basement combination (2+AB).
|
|
YEARBUILT
|
Year Built
|
TEXT(4)
|
Year the primary structure on the property was built.
|
|
PRIMARY
|
Primary Building
|
TEXT(1)
|
Value is "Y" if the building is a primary building on a parcel. Reserved for Single Family properties.
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|
MOBHOME
|
Mobile Home
|
TEXT(1)
|
Value is "Y" if the building is a mobile home.
|
|
GARAGE
|
Garage Type
|
TEXT(3)
|
Code indicating type of garage or carport.
|
|
QUALITY
|
Building Quality
|
TEXT(2)
|
Building quality code.
|
|
CONDITION
|
Building Condition
|
TEXT(3)
|
Code indicating the physical condition of the building.
|
|
ROOF_SLOPE
|
Mean Roof Slope
|
INTEGER
|
Mean roof slope.
|
|
EXTWALLS
|
Exterior Walls
|
TEXT(3)
|
Code indicating type or finish of exterior walls.
|
|
BASEMENT
|
Basement Type
|
TEXT(3)
|
Code indicating type of basement.
|
|
FOUNDATION
|
Foundation Type
|
TEXT(3)
|
Code indicating type of foundation.
|
|
CONSTRUCT
|
Building Construction
|
TEXT(3)
|
Lists the 3 letter material code used for building construction methods.
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|
ROOF_COVER
|
Roof Cover
|
TEXT(3)
|
Lists the code indicating type of roof covering used on the property.
|
|
ROOF_SHAPE
|
Roof Shape
|
TEXT(3)
|
Lists the code indicating architectural style of roof used on the property.
|
New Table: buildings_usa_names
The buildings_usa_names table is new to the Buildings USA schema. It provides a unique record identifier (NAME_ID), building and complex name data linked to buildings_usa via BLDGID, and building letters/numbers (ADDNUMBER2). Add this table to your ingestion workflow to consume building name data.
|
Field Name
|
Friendly Name
|
Data Type
|
Description
|
|
NAME_ID
|
Names Table ID
|
TEXT(18)
|
Primary key of names table.
|
|
BLDGID
|
Building ID
|
TEXT(12)
|
Unique building identifier.
|
|
BLDG_NAME
|
Building Name
|
TEXT(230)
|
Building or complex name.
|
|
ADDNUMBER2
|
Secondary Address Number
|
TEXT(12)
|
Building letters/numbers.
|
Field Length Changes
buildings_usa_addresses - Updated Field Length
The following field in the buildings_usa_addresses table has a field length change in the 2026.11 release. Customers with fixed-length column definitions or validation rules based on the previous length must update their schemas accordingly.
|
Field Name
|
Friendly Name
|
Data Type
|
Previous Length
|
New Length
|
|
ADDR_ID
|
Address ID
|
TEXT
|
30
|
18
|
File Rename: buildings_status_usa → buildings_usa_status
The buildings_status_usa file has been renamed to buildings_usa_status. Any pipeline, script, or process that references the previous filename must be updated prior to upgrading to the 2026.11 release.
Availability
The Buildings USA 2026.11 release is scheduled for November 2026. Please see the updated data schema attached, which will be published to the Precisely Help Center upon release.
Required Customer Actions
Complete the following before upgrading to the 2026.11 release:
- Update any fixed-length column definitions or validation rules referencing ADDR_ID in buildings_usa_addresses from 30 to 18 characters.
- Extend destination schemas to accommodate the 17 new fields in buildings_usa.
- Configure ingestion for the new buildings_usa_names table if building name data is required.
- Update any references to buildings_status_usa to buildings_usa_status.
- Review downstream pipelines for column-positional dependencies affected by the updated field ordering in buildings_usa.
Contact Information
Product documentation is available in the Precisely Help Center at help.precisely.com.