Economy
Housing starts increase in April but remain muted
Written by Brett Linton
May 17, 2024
US housing starts ticked up through April following March’s dip, according to the latest data release from the US Census Bureau.
Total housing starts stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1.36 million units in April, a 6% increase from the multi-year low seen one month prior. Excluding March, the last time total housing starts were this low was last August at 1.31 million units.
At the same time, the overall number of privately owned housing units authorized by building permits fell 3% from March to April to a SAAR of 1.44 million units. Single-family building permits were 1% lower m/m at 976,000 units. Multi-family permits eased 7% from March to 464,000 units.
Single-family starts
Single‐family starts in March totaled 1.03 million units, down less than 1% from the upwardly revised February figure of 1.04 million units. Multi-family starts rebounded 31% month on month (m/m) to 322,000 units.
“While the start of the year has seen an expansion for single-family home building because of a lack of existing home inventory, home building activity leveled off in April…,” said Carl Harris, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in a statement. He attributed this stabilization to higher interest rates, tighter lending conditions and lower home building sentiment on new construction.
Regional starts
Regionally, total housing starts were mixed across the nation from March to April. In the Northeast we saw a 23% reduction m/m, as well as a 3% decline in the West. The Midwest witnessed an increase of 19% m/m, as did the South, rising 10%.
For a history of monthly housing start and building permit figures, visit the Housing Data page on our website.
Brett Linton
Read more from Brett LintonLatest in Economy
Durable goods orders rise again in February
Transportation equipment led the increase, rising 1.5% to $98.3 billion.
Consumer confidence falls for fourth consecutive month
People remain concerned about inflation, trade policies, and tariffs.
Housing starts ticked up in February
Single-family starts last month hit a rate of 1.10 million, a month-over-month increase of 11.4%, census data shows.
Architecture billings continued to slide in February
The ABI is a leading indicator for near-term nonresidential construction activity and projects business conditions ~9-12 months down the road (the typical lead time between architecture billings and construction spending).
New York state manufacturing activity tumbles in March
After a modest recovery in February, business activity in New York state’s manufacturing sector declined sharply in March, according to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.