(05-19-20)
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 2020: Building Permits – Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,074,000. This is 20.8 percent (±0.9 percent) below the revised March rate of 1,356,000 and is 19.2 percent (±0.9 percent) below the April 2019 rate of 1,330,000. Single-family authorizations in April were at a rate of 669,000; this is 24.3 percent (±1.6 percent) below the revised March figure of 884,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 373,000 in April. Housing Starts – Privately-owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 891,000. This is 30.2 percent (±11.0 percent) below the revised March estimate of 1,276,000 and is 29.7 percent (±8.1 percent) below the April 2019 rate of 1,267,000. Single-family housing starts in April were at a rate of 650,000; this is 25.4 percent (±9.6 percent) below the revised March figure of 871,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 234,000. Housing Completions – Privately-owned housing completions in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,176,000. This is 8.1 percent (±13.5 percent)* below the revised March estimate of 1,279,000 and is 11.8 percent (±9.9 percent) below the April 2019 rate of 1,334,000. Single-family housing completions in April were at a rate of 865,000; this is 4.9 percent (±16.7 percent)* below the revised March rate of 910,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 304,000.