Housing starts declined 1.4% from November to December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.3 million. Compared with December 2021, housing starts were down 21.8%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Total housing starts for 2022 were 1.55 million, a 3% decline compared with 2021 overall.
Building permits declined 1.6% month-over-month in December and were down 29.9% compared with December 2021.
“The decline in single-family permits indicates that builders are slowing construction activity as interest rates have spiked in recent months,” stated Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington, NAHB’s assistant VP for forecasting and analysis. “Starts began on a strong footing in early 2022 but fell back in the latter part of the year as higher costs led to a pause in home building activity and affordability conditions worsened for home buyers.”
Regionally, month-over-month, housing starts declined 37.4% in the Midwest, 9.5% in the West and 4.0% in the South. Housing starts rose 135.6% in the Northeast in December.
The full report can be found here.
