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Posted April 17, 2018

U.S. housing starts rise 1.9 percent in March

Multifamily starts drive the segment as single-family starts retreat 3.7 percent. 


Gains in multifamily production pushed overall housing starts up 1.9% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.32 million units, according to newly released data from HUD and the Commerce Department.

Multifamily production rose 14.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 452,000 units — its highest reading since December 2016. Meanwhile, single-family starts fell 3.7% to 867,000 units.

“Builders are optimistic about future demand for housing and are ramping up production to meet this demand,” said NAHB Chairman Randy Noel. “Single-family starts dropped slightly this month, but single-family permits year to date are up 5% from their level over this same period in 2017.”

“The modest decline in single-family starts in March is still in line with our solid builder confidence readings and is largely attributable to lingering winter weather that is causing production delays in certain areas of the country,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “With ongoing job creation, wage increases and rising household formations, we can expect continued, gradual strengthening of the housing market in the coming months.”

Regionally in March, combined single- and multifamily housing production increased 22.4% in the Midwest and ticked up 0.8% in the Northeast. Starts inched down 0.6% in the South and 1.5% in the West.

Multifamily strengthening pushed overall permit issuance up 2.5% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.35 million units. Multifamily permits jumped 19% to 514,000 while single-family permits fell 5.5% to 840,000.

Permit issuance rose 9.0% in the Midwest, 3.0% in the West and 2.1% in the South. Permits declined 5.5% in the Northeast.

Here are the official figures:

Building Permits

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,354,000. This is 2.5 percent (±1.4 percent) above the revised February rate of 1,321,000 and is 7.5 percent (±1.4 percent) above the March 2017 rate of 1,260,000.

Single-family authorizations in March were at a rate of 840,000; this is 5.5 percent (±1.5 percent) below the revised February figure of 889,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 473,000 in March.

Housing Starts

Privately-owned housing starts in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,319,000. This is 1.9 percent (±12.4 percent)* above the revised February estimate of 1,295,000 and is 10.9 percent (±10.0 percent) above the March 2017 rate of 1,189,000.

Single-family housing starts in March were at a rate of 867,000; this is 3.7 percent (±11.8 percent)* below the revised February figure of 900,000. The March rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 439,000.

Housing Completions

Privately-owned housing completions in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,217,000. This is 5.1 percent (±16.0 percent)* below the revised February estimate of 1,282,000, but is 1.9 percent (±13.4 percent)* above the March 2017 rate of 1,194,000.

Single-family housing completions in March were at a rate of 840,000; this is 4.7 percent (±12.3 percent)* below the revised February rate of 881,000. The March rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 371,000.

Source: www.census.gov and NAHB.org

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