Housing Starts Increased to 1.404 million Annual Rate in December

Note: The Census Bureau is still catching up. They released Start data for November and December today, but we are still missing January data.

From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions

Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,404,000. This is 6.2 percent above the revised November estimate of 1,322,000, but is 7.3 percent below the December 2024 rate of 1,514,000. Single-family housing starts in December were at a rate of 981,000; this is 4.1 percent above the revised November figure of 942,000. The December rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 402,000.

Privately-owned housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,322,000. This is 3.9 percent above the revised October estimate of 1,272,000.

An estimated 1,358,700 housing units were started in 2025. This is 0.6 percent below the 2024 figure of 1,367,100.

Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,448,000. This is 4.3 percent above the revised November rate of 1,388,000, but is 2.2 percent below the December 2024 rate of 1,480,000. Single-family authorizations in December were at a rate of 881,000; this is 1.7 percent below the revised November figure of 896,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 515,000 in December.

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,388,000. This is 1.6 percent below the revised October rate of 1,411,000.

An estimated 1,425,200 housing units were authorized by building permits in 2025. This is 3.6 percent below the 2024 figure of 1,478,000.
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 December. Multi-family starts were down 1.0% year-over-year in December. Single-family starts (red) increased in December and were down 9.0% year-over-year.

The second graph shows single and multi-family starts since 1968.

Total housing starts in December were above expectations.

The third graph shows the month-to-month comparison for total starts between 2024 (blue) and 2025 (red).

Total starts were down 7.3% in December compared to December 2024.

In 2025, starts were down 0.6% compared to 2024. Single family starts were down 6.9% and multi-family up 18.0% in 2025 compared to 2024.

Housing Units Under Construction Remains 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!