New Residential Construction: Housing Starts, Building Permits Surge

The U.S. Census Bureau’s new residential construction report shows housing starts and building permits both beat the median forecast in March.

Building Permits

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,354,000. This is 2.5 percent (±1.4 percent) above the revised February rate of 1,321,000 and is 7.5 percent (±1.4 percent) above the March 2017 rate of 1,260,000. Single-family authorizations in March were at a rate of 840,000; this is 5.5 percent (±1.5 percent) below the revised February figure of 889,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 473,000 in March.

Housing Starts

Privately-owned housing starts in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,319,000. This is 1.9 percent (±12.4 percent)* above the revised February estimate of 1,295,000 and is 10.9 percent (±10.0 percent) above the March 2017 rate of 1,189,000. Single-family housing starts in March were at a rate of 867,000; this is 3.7 percent (±11.8 percent)* below the revised February figure of 900,000. The March rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 439,000.

Housing Completions

Privately-owned housing completions in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,217,000. This is 5.1 percent (±16.0 percent)* below the revised February estimate of 1,282,000, but is 1.9 percent (±13.4 percent)* above the March 2017 rate of 1,194,000. Single-family housing completions in March were at a rate of 840,000; this is 4.7 percent (±12.3 percent)* below the revised February rate of 881,000. The March rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 371,000.