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Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller May 16, 2018
Total housing starts in April fell 3.7% (+10.5% y/y) to 1.287 million (SAAR) from 1.336 million during March, revised from 1.319 million. A level of 1.318 million starts had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Starts of single-family homes nudged 0.1% higher last month (7.2% y/y) to 894,000, following a 0.8% decline in March to 893,000 million units. Starts of multi-family units declined 11.3% to 393,000 units and reversed the increase during the prior month to 443,000 units.
Movement in starts last month varied around the country. In the Midwest, housing starts declined 16.3% (-18.4% y/y) to 164,000 following a 27.3% March increase. Starts in the West fell 12.0% (+12.0% y/y) to 346,000, the lowest level in six months. Housing starts in the Northeast were off 8.1% (+34.1% y/y) to 114,000, the lowest level since December. To the upside, starts in the South increased 6.4% (16.3% y/y) to 663,000 after a 1.3% gain.
Building permits declined 1.8% (+7.7% y/y) to 1.352 million units following a 4.1% March increase. Single-family permits improved 0.9% (7.9% y/y) to 859,000 after a 4.0% decline. Permits to build multi-family homes fell 6.3% (+7.4% y/y) to 493,000, after rising 20.4%.
The housing starts and permits figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure is contained in the AS1REPNA database.
Housing Starts (000s, SAAR) | Apr | Mar | Feb | Apr Y/Y % | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 1,287 | 1,336 | 1,290 | 10.5 | 1,203 | 1,174 | 1,112 |
Single-Family | 894 | 893 | 900 | 7.2 | 849 | 782 | 715 |
Multi-Family | 393 | 443 | 390 | 18.7 | 354 | 392 | 397 |
Starts By Region | |||||||
Northeast | 114 | 124 | 132 | 34.1 | 112 | 116 | 138 |
Midwest | 164 | 196 | 154 | -18.4 | 179 | 182 | 153 |
South | 663 | 623 | 615 | 16.3 | 599 | 585 | 556 |
West | 346 | 393 | 389 | 12.0 | 313 | 291 | 265 |
Building Permits | 1,352 | 1,377 | 1,323 | 7.7 | 1,254 | 1,207 | 1,183 |