Housing Starts and Building Permits Increase in December, but Building Completions Fall Short

The U.S. Census Bureau reported on Wednesday (1-19-22) that privately‐owned housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,702,000. This is 1.4% above the revised November estimate of 1,678,000 and is 2.5% above the December 2020 rate of 1,661,000. Single-family housing starts in December were at a rate of 1,172,000. This is -2.3% below the revised November figure of 1,199,000. The December rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 524,000.

Building Permits are the forward-looking portion of the report, and in December privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits were at a SAAR of 1,873,000. This is 9.1% above the revised November rate of 1,717,000 and is 2.0% above the December 2020 rate of 1,758,000. Single-family authorizations in December were at a rate of 1,128,000. This is 2.0% above the revised November figure of 1,106,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 675,000.

An estimated 1,724,700 housing units were authorized by building permits in 2021. This is 17.2% above the 2020 figure of 1,471,10.

Privately‐owned housing completions in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,295,000. This is -8.7% below the revised November estimate of 1,418,000 and is -6.6% below the December 2020 rate of 1,386,000. Single‐family housing completions in December were at a rate of 990,000; this is 3.9% above the revised November rate of 953,000. The December rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 299,000.

An estimated 1,337,800 housing units were completed in 2021. This is 4.0% above the 2020 figure of 1,286,900.