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

The US Census Bureau on Tuesday (4-18-23) reported that privately‐owned housing starts in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,420,000. This is 0.8% below the revised February estimate of 1,432,000 and 17.2% below the March 2022 rate of 1,716,000. Single-family housing starts in March were at a rate of 861,000; this is 2.7% above the revised February figure of 838,000. The March rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 542,000.

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 1,413,000. This is 8.8% below the revised February rate of 1,550,000 and 24.8% below the March 2022 rate of 1,879,000. Single-family authorizations in March were at a rate of 818,000; this is 4.1% above the revised February figure of 786,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 543,000.

Privately‐owned housing completions in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,542,000. This is 0.6% below the revised February estimate of 1,552,000 but 12.9% above the March 2022 rate of 1,366,000. Single‐family housing completions in March were at a rate of 1,050,000; this is 2.4% above the revised February rate of 1,025,000. The rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 484,000.