Housing Starts Decreased to 1.465 million Annual Rate in April
The Census Bureau is now caught up on housing starts.
From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions
Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,465,000. This is 2.8 percent below the revised March estimate of 1,507,000, but is 4.6 percent above the April 2025 rate of 1,400,000. Single-family housing starts in April were at a rate of 930,000; this is 9.0 percent below the revised March figure of 1,022,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 529,000.
Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,442,000. This is 5.8 percent above the revised March rate of 1,363,000, but is 0.2 percent below the April 2025 rate of 1,445,000. Single-family authorizations in April were at a rate of 872,000; this is 2.6 percent below the revised March figure of 895,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 514,000 in April.
emphasis added
The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts since 2000 (including housing bubble).
Multi-family starts (blue, 2+ units) increased month-over-month in April. Multi-family starts were up 20% year-over-year in March. Single-family starts (red) decreased in April and were down 2% year-over-year.
The second graph shows single and multi-family starts since 1968.
Total housing starts in April were above expectations, however starts for the previous three months were revised down slightly, combined.
The third graph shows the month-to-month comparison for total starts between 2025 (blue) and 2026 (red).
Total starts were up 4.6% in April compared to April 2025. Year-to-date, total starts are down 1.6% NSA compared to same period in 2025.
Housing Units Under Construction Remains Slightly Elevated
The fourth graph shows housing starts under construction, Seasonally Adjusted (SA).
The following content is for paid subscribers only. Thanks to all paid subscribers!