Overall housing starts increased 5.7% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.36 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
The April reading of 1.36 million starts is the number of housing units builders would begin if development kept this pace for the next 12 months. Within this overall number, single-family starts decreased 0.4% to a 1.03 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. However, this pace is 17.7% higher than a year ago. On a year-to-date basis, single-family starts are up 25.7%, totaling 335,600. The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, increased 30.6% to an annualized 329,000 pace.
Regional, year-to-date metrics
- On a regional and year-to-date basis, combined single-family and multifamily starts are 24.5% lower in the Northeast, 11.0% higher in the Midwest, 1.8% higher in the South and 8.4% higher in the West.
- Overall permits decreased 3.0% to a 1.44 million unit annualized rate in April. Single-family permits decreased 0.8% to a 976,000 unit rate; this is the lowest pace since August 2023. Multifamily permits decreased 7.4% to an annualized 464,000 pace.
- Looking at regional data on a year-to-date basis, permits are 9.3% higher in the Northeast, 8.5% higher in the Midwest, 2.8% higher in the South and 0.2% higher in the West.
- After peaking in July 2023 at 1.02 million apartments under construction, active multifamily units under construction is declining quickly—down to 934,000 in April.
Industry response to the data
"Moving forward, the multifamily market will see additional declines for construction volume, while the pace of completions remains elevated," says Robert Dietz, chief economist, National Association of Home Builders. "April marked the fifth consecutive month for which the seasonally adjusted rate of multifamily completions was above 500,000. This additional rental supply will help lower shelter inflation, which is the last leg of the inflation policy challenge."
