22 WESTERN PALLET
April Housing Starts Flat, Building Permits Plunge
US housing starts were largely flat in April but if new housing permits are a bellwether for future builds, fresh data for this metric suggests the homebuilding sector may be slowing. Building permits dropped more than 3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1.819 million units in April, the lowest level since November 2021. The decline was concentrated in the single-family housing segment, where permits tumbled 4.6% and decreases were seen in all four regions of the US.
Housing Starts, Permits & Completions
Privately-owned housing starts decreased 0.2% in April to a SAAR of 1.724 million units. Single-family starts were down 7.3% to a rate of 1.100 million units. Starts for the volatile multi-family segment jumped 16.8% to a rate of 612,000 in April.
As noted above, privately-owned housing authorizations were down 3.2% to a rate of 1.819 million units in April, and single-family authorizations were off 4.6% to a pace of 1.100 million units. Privately-owned housing completions were down 5.1% to a SAAR of 1.295 million units. Per the US Census Bureau Report, seasonally adjusted MoM total housing starts by region included:
Northeast: -23.2%
South: +10.6%
Midwest: -22%
West: +3.3%
Seasonally-adjusted MoM single-family housing starts by region included:
Northeast: -4.8%
South: +9.9%
Midwest: -13.6%
West: +1.4% appears to be succumbing to soaring interest rates, supply chain and cost pressures.