Housing starts fell 6.0% in January compared with December, dropping to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.58 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Compared with January 2020, housing starts declined 2.3%.
January’s rates were bogged down by single-family housing starts, which declined 12.2%. Multifamily housing starts increased 17.1% during the month.
"Builders report concerns over increasing lumber and other construction costs and delays in obtaining building materials,” stated Robert Dietz, chief economist with the National Association of Home Builders. “Rising interest rates will also erode housing affordability in 2021, as existing home inventories remain low.”
Regionally, compared with December, housing starts fell 12.3% in the Midwest, 2.5% in the South and 11.4% in the West. Northeast housing starts increased 2.3%.
January building permits grew 10.4% to an adjusted rate of 1.88 million (a 22.5% surge year-over-year).
Housing completions declined 2.3% compared with December to an adjusted rate of 1.33 million but increased 2.4% compared with January 2020.
The full report can be found here.
