US Housing Starts and Completions Climb in April, but Permits Decline

On Thursday, the US Census Bureau reported that privately‐owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,360,000. This is 5.7% above the revised March estimate of 1,287,000 but 0.6% below the April 2023 rate of 1,368,000. Single-family housing starts were at a rate of 1,031,000; this is 0.4% below the revised March figure of 1,035,000. The rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 322,000.

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 1,440,000. This is 3.0% below the revised March rate of 1,485,000 and 2.0% below the April 2023 rate of 1,470,000. Single-family authorizations were at a rate of 976,000; this is 0.8% below the revised March figure of 984,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 408,000.

Privately‐owned housing completions in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,623,000. This is 8.6% above the revised March estimate of 1,495,000 and 14.6% above the April 2023 rate of 1,528,000. Single‐family housing completions were at a rate of 1,092,000; this is 15.4% above the revised March rate of 946,000. The rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 516,000.