The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have recently announced new residential construction statistics for March 2016. According to the data, building permits for privately-owned housing units in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,086,000, down 7.7 percent from the revised February rate of 1,177,000. However, the rate is up 4.6 percent from the March 2015 rate of 1,038,000. Building permits for single-family housing in March were estimated at 727,000, down 1.2 percent from the revised February rate of 736,000. Building permits for units in buildings with five units or more in March were at a rate of 324,000.
In March, privately-owned housing starts were at an adjusted rate of 1,089,000, down 8.8 percent from February’s revised estimate of 1,194,000, but up 14.2 percent from the March 2015 rate of 954,000. Single-family housing starts were at a rate of 764,000 in March, down 9.2 percent from the revised February rate of 841,000. For units in buildings with five units or more, the March rate was 312,000.
As for housing completions, the March rate for privately-owned housing was at a seasonally adjusted annual estimate of 1,061,000, an increase of 3.5 percent from February’s revised rate of 1,025,000, as well as a significant 31.6 percent increase from the March 2015 estimate of 806,000. Single-family housing completions were at a rate of 734,000 for March, putting it 0.3 percent below February’s revised rate of 736,000. The housing completion rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 316,000 in March.
For more information, click here to read the full U.S. Census Bureau/U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development Press Release for March 2016.