An Improvement in Single-Family Production in March
This March showed a positive turn when it comes to single-family production due to stabilizing mortgage rates and low inventory. April saw a positive reflection in builder sentiment. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau reported a downward turn of 0.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.42 million units. The 1.42 million units represent the number of housing units that have started.
Single-family starts rose 2.7% to an 861,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate. The three month moving average went down to 841,000 starts which is basically the gauge that is used to give the recent volatility. On a year-over-year basis they were down from March 2022 by 27.7%.
Multifamily also had a decline to 5.9% to an annualized 559,000 pace for 2+ unit construction in March. The multifamily starts includes for-rent apartment buildings and condos. ***The three-month moving average for multifamily construction has been a solid 555,000-unit annual rate which is a year-over-year basis up 6.5%.
As for regional both single-family and multifamily starts combined were 8.3% lower in the Northeast, 34.5% lower in the Midwest, 11.5% lower in the South and 28.2% lower in the West. Permits on a year-to-date basis were also down in the Northeast 24.5%, in the Midwest 25.3%, in the South 15.7% and in the West 28.1%