US Housing Starts, Building Permits, and Completions All Decline Month-Over-Month in January

On Friday, the US Census Bureau reported that privately‐owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,331,000. This is 14.8% below the revised December estimate of 1,562,000 and 0.7% below the January 2023 rate of 1,340,000. Single-family housing starts were at a rate of 1,004,000; this is 4.7% below the revised December figure of 1,054,000. The rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 314,000.

Building permits are the forward-looking portion of the report, and in January privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits were at a SAAR of 1,470,000. This is 1.5% below the revised December rate of 1,493,000 but 8.6% above the January 2023 rate of 1,354,000. Single-family authorizations were at a rate of 1,015,000; this is 1.6% above the revised December figure of 999,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 405,000.

Privately‐owned housing completions in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,416,000. This is 8.1% below the revised December estimate of 1,541,000 but 2.8% above the January 2023 rate of 1,377,000. Single‐family housing completions were at a rate of 857,000; this is 16.3% below the revised December rate of 1,024,000. The rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 538,000.