Housing starts declined 22.3% in March to a rate of 1.22 million, the U.S. Census Bureau reports. The sharp decline was largely due to the growing impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
Overall permits decreased 6.8% to 1.35 million. Single-family housing starts dropped 17.5%, and the multifamily sector fell 31.7% during the month.
NAHB said it anticipates further declines in housing starts in April, due to the “unprecedented decline in builder confidence” NAHB reported in its latest survey.
Year-over-year, housing starts increased in all regions in March due to strong construction data in January and February and a weak performance in March 2019, according to NAHB. Month-over-month starts declined 12.7% in the Midwest, 10.5% in the West, 7.6% in the Northeast and 3.1% in the South.
The full Census Bureau report can be found here.
