(05-16-18)

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for April 2018. Building Permits: Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,352,000. This is 1.8 percent (±1.3 percent) below the revised March rate of 1,377,000, but is 7.7 percent (±0.9 percent) above the April 2017 rate of 1,255,000. Single-family authorizations in April were at a rate of 859,000; this is 0.9 percent (±1.4 percent)* above the revised March figure of 851,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 450,000 in April. Housing Starts: Privately-owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,287,000. This is 3.7 percent (±11.4 percent)* below the revised March estimate of 1,336,000, but is 10.5 percent (±9.7 percent) above the April 2017 rate of 1,165,000. Single-family housing starts in April were at a rate of 894,000; this is 0.1 percent (±11.8 percent)* above the revised March figure of 893,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 374,000. Housing Completions: Privately-owned housing completions in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,257,000. This is 2.8 percent (±10.1 percent)* above the revised March estimate of 1,223,000 and is 14.8 percent (±10.5 percent) above the April 2017 rate of 1,095,000. Single-family housing completions in April were at a rate of 820,000; this is 4.0 percent (±9.2 percent)* below the revised March rate of 854,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 425,000.