Housing Starts, Permits and Completions Decline Month-Over-Month in April but Remain Up Year-Over-Year

The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that privately‐owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,569,000. This is -9.5% below the revised March estimate of 1,733,000 but is 67.3% above the April 2020 rate. Single-family housing starts in April were at a rate of 1,087,000; and this is -13.4% below the revised March figure. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 470,000. Building Permits are the forward-looking portion of the report and in April privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits were at a SAAR of 1760,000. This is -0.3% above the revised March rate of 1,755,000 and is 60.9% above the April 2020 rate. Single-family authorizations in April were at a rate of 1,149,000; this is -3.8% below the March figure of 1,194,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 559,000. Completions are the number of homes finished during the month. Privately‐owned housing completions in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,449,000. This is -4.4% below the revised March estimate of 1,515,000, but is 21.7% above the April 2020 rate of 1,191,000. Single‐family housing completions in April were at a rate of 1,045,000; this is 0.1% above the revised March rate of 1,044,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 401,000.


FEA compiles the Wood Markets News from various 3rd party sources to provide readers with the latest news impacting forest product markets. Opinions or views expressed in these articles do not necessarily represent those of FEA.