WASHINGTON – According to data released Wednesday by the Commerce Department, April housing starts fell by 3.7% to a 1.287 million annual rate, below the 1.313 million pace expected and following an upward revision to 1.336 million for the March data and a slight downward adjustment to the February pace to 1.290 million.
As a result, the April starts pace of 1.290 million is down from the 1.320 million average rate in the first quarter. Annual revisions were included in the data.
Permits posted a 1.8% decline to a still-strong 1.352 million rate, very close to the 1.350 million rate expected, while those permitted but not started rose by 1.9%. The recent levels of permits suggest that this category, as well as starts eventually, should see gains in the coming months. The NAHB index posted a modest gain in April after falling in the previous four months.
Single-family housing starts rose 0.1% in April, so the headline decline was led by an 11.3% drop in multi-family starts. Single-family building permits were up 0.9%, while multi-family permits were down 6.3%.
Starts fell in the Northeast (-8.1%), Midwest (+16.3%), and West (-12.0%) regions, but rose solidly in the South (+6.4%) to provide some offset.
Homes under construction were flat in April, while completions rose by 2.8% to 1.257 million. With the strong starts readings in the first quarter, these categories should move higher in the coming months.
