The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have recently announced new residential construction statistics for April 2016. According to the data, building permits for privately-owned housing units in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,116,000, up 3.6 percent from the revised March rate of 1,077,000. Compared to last year, the rate was down 5.3 percent from the April 2015 rate of 1,178,000. Building permits for single-family housing in April were estimated at 736,000, up 1.5 percent from the revised March rate of 725,000. Building permits for units in buildings with five units or more in April were at a rate of 348,000.
In April, privately-owned housing starts were at an adjusted rate of 1,172,000, up 6.6 percent from March’s revised estimate of 1,099,000, but down 1.7 percent from the April 2015 rate of 1,192,000. Single-family housing starts were at a rate of 778,000 in April, up 3.3 percent from the revised March rate of 753,000. For units in buildings with five units or more, the April rate was 373,000.
As for housing completions, the April rate for privately-owned housing was at a seasonally adjusted annual estimate of 933,000, down 11.0 percent from March’s revised rate of 1,048,000 and down 7.4 percent from the April 2015 estimate of 1,008,000. Single-family housing completions were at a rate of 691,000 for April, putting it 3.6 percent below March’s revised rate of 717,000. The housing completion rate for units in buildings with five units or more was at 232,000 in April.
For more information, click here to read the full U.S. Census Bureau/U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development Press Release for April 2016.