Housing Starts and Permits Tumble in April

The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that Privately-owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 891,000. This is -30.2% below the revised March estimate of 1,276,000 and is -29.7% below the April 2019 rate of 1,267,000. Single-family housing starts in April were at a rate of 650,000; this is -25.4% below the revised March figure of 871,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 234,000. Permits are the forward-looking part of the report and Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,074,000. This is -20.8% below the revised March rate of 1,356,000 and is -19.2% below the April 2019 rate of 1,330,000. Single-family authorizations in April were at a rate of 669,000; this is -24.3% below the revised March figure of 884,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 373,000 in April.