US Housing Starts, Building Permits, and Completions All Decline in March

On Tuesday, the US Census Bureau reported that privately‐owned housing starts in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,321,000. This is 14.7% below the revised February estimate of 1,549,000 and 4.3% below the March 2023 rate of 1,380,000. Single-family housing starts were at a rate of 1,022,000; this is 12.4% below the revised February figure of 1,167,000. The rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 290,000.

Building permits are the forward-looking portion of the report, and in March privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits were at a SAAR of 1,458,000. This is 4.3% below the revised February rate of 1,523,000 but 1.5% above the March 2023 rate of 1,437,000. Single-family authorizations were at a rate of 973,000; this is 5.7% below the revised February figure of 1,032,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 433,000.

Privately‐owned housing completions in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,469,000. This is 13.5% below the revised February estimate of 1,698,000 and 3.9% below the March 2023 rate of 1,528,000. Single‐family housing completions were at a rate of 947,000; this is 10.2% below the revised February rate of 1,058,000. The rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 502,000.