It was a mixed month as building permits fell more than expected while housing starts didn’t fall as much as expected, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau.
- Building Permits. Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.413M in March, down 8.8% from February and now down 24.8% from the same time last year.
- Housing Starts. Privately‐owned housing starts in March fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.42M in March, down 0.8% from February and now down 17.2% from the same time last year.
- Housing Completions. Privately‐owned housing completions fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.542M in March, down 0.6% from February but still 12.9% above the March 2022 rate.
Swing & A Miss. Building permits fell more than expected as economists believed permits would only fall 6.0% but economists also missed housing starts as they believed they would fall 3.0%
A Good Month For Single Family. Despite the topline drops all three categories saw an increase in single-family activity.
- Permits rose 4.1% in March to a rate of 818k, starts were up 2.7% to a rate of 838k, and completions rose 2.4% to a rate of 1.025M.
South Continues To Dominate. The South continues to dominate all other regions with 60% of housing starts, 54% of all permits, and 50% of housing completions.