US Housing Starts, Permits, and Completions All Fell in December

The US Census Bureau reported on Thursday (1-19-23) that privately‐owned housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,382,000. This is 1.4% below the revised November estimate of 1,401,000 and 21.8% below the December 2021 rate of 1,768,000. Single-family housing starts in December were at a rate of 909,000, or 11.3% above the revised November figure of 817,000. The December rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 463,000.

An estimated 1,553,300 housing units were started in 2022. This is 3.0% below the 2021 figure of 1,601,000 housing units.

Building permits are the forward-looking portion of the report, and in December, privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits were at a SAAR of 1330,000. This is 1.6% below the revised November rate of 1,351,000 and 29.9% below the December 2021 rate of 1,896,000. Single-family authorizations in December were at a rate of 730,000, or 6.5% below the revised November figure of 781,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 555,000 in December.

An estimated 1,649,400 housing units were authorized by permit in 2022. This is 5.0% below the 2021 figure of 1,737,000 housing units.

Privately‐owned housing completions in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,411,000. This is 8.4% below the revised November estimate of 1,540,000 but 6.4% above the December 2021 rate of 1,326,000. Single‐family housing completions in December were at a rate of 1,005,000, or 8.0% below the revised November rate of 1,092,000. The December rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 385,000.

An estimated 1,392,300 housing units were completed in 2022. This is 3.8% above the 2021 figure of 1,341,000 housing units.