Perhaps the recent good news regarding lumber will mean an upswing for May numbers, but for now, April looks to have been a slow month in the residential construction world.
According to the monthly report from the U.S. Census Bureau, building permits for privately‐owned housing units and single‐ family authorizations were both down in April, 3.2 percent and 4.6 percent respectively, when compared to March 2022. Permits were up annually, though, 3.1 percent above April 2021.
Privately‐owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,724,000; just 0.2 percent below the revised March 2022 figure of 1,728,000. Annually, starts were up 14.6 percent compared to last April when supply chain woes were causing many a delay.
Single‐family housing starts were down 7.3 percent in April 2022 compared to the month prior.
Finally, privately‐owned housing completions in April were 5.1 percent below the revised March numbers and 8.6 percent below the April 2021 rate. Single‐family housing completions in April were at a rate of 1,001,000. That’s down 4.9 percent from March 2022.