April housing starts grew 5.7% from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.24 million units, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Overall, housing starts are 2.5% below April 2018 rates.
Single-family starts grew 6.2% in April, and multifamily starts jumped 4.7%.
In the Northeast and Midwest, combined housing starts surged 84.6% and 42%, respectively. In the South and West, starts fell 5.7% and 5.5%, respectively.
Overall building permits increased 0.6% compared with March but declined 5.0% from April 2018.
“Though an overall encouraging report for the month of April, the soft permit numbers for single-family housing indicate concerns about housing affordability and construction costs,” National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist Robert Dietz said in a statement. “Builders continue to focus on managing home construction costs as they try to meet growing housing demand.”
Housing completions fell 1.4% from March but increased 5.5% compared with April 2018.
