Residential construction data was mixed to end 2022. Building permits unexpectedly fell, housing starts fell less than expected, and housing completions ended the year in positive territory, according to the Census Bureau’s new residential construction report.
Building Permits. Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits fell in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,330,000, this is 1.6% below November’s report and is worse than the 1.0% increase economists had projected.
- Permits ended the year down 29.9% when compared to December 2021.
Housing Starts. Privately-owned housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,382,000, this is 1.4% below November’s report but was better than the 5.0% drop that economists were projecting.
- Starts ended the year down 21.8% when compared to December 2021.
Housing Completions. Privately-owned housing completions in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,411,000, this is 8.4% higher than November and puts completions up 6.4% when compared to the same time last year.
BOTTOM LINE: It was a rough year for home construction. they started the year not being able to find supplies and ended the year not being able to find buyers. However, our housing market nationally is still 4 million homes underbuilt. If we can end the year with more homes completed than the year I would say it has been a successful year.