Overall housing starts increased 0.3% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.79 million units, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Compared with March 2021, overall housing starts increased 3.9%.
Overall housing starts increased 0.3% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.79 million units, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Compared with March 2021, overall housing starts increased 3.9%.
Single family starts declined 1.7% to an adjusted rate of 1.20 million, and multifamily housing increased 4.6% to an adjusted rate of 593,000.
“The shift in affordability can be seen in the March data with strength for multifamily construction and some weakness for single-family permits,” stated NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Our builder surveys show that confidence levels in the single-family market have declined for four straight months as affordability conditions continue to worsen, and this is a sign that single-family production will face challenges moving forward.”
Year-over-year, overall housing starts increased 17.3% in the Northeast, 6.6% in the Midwest, 11.2% in the South and 7.5% in the West.
Building permits increased 0.4% from February to a rate of 1.86 million. Compared with March 2021, building permits increased 6.7%. Housing completions declined 4.5% from February. Compared with March 2021, housing completions dropped 13.0%.
The full report can be found here.
