Housing Starts Down in March on Coronavirus Effects
Reflecting the growing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, total housing starts decreased 22.3% in March from a downwardly revised February reading to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.22 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development and Commerce Department. Meanwhile, overall permits declined 6.8% to 1.35 million.
The March reading of 1.22 million starts is the number of housing units builders would begin if they kept this pace for the next 12 months. Within this overall number, single-family starts decreased 17.5% to an 856,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate. The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, decreased 31.7% to a 360,000 pace.
“Housing has been deemed an essential business in most of the nation, and in the few states where the governors have not acted, we urge them to deem construction as essential,” said NAHB Chairman Dean Mon. “Housing can help lead an eventual rebound, as it has done in previous recessions.”
“We expect further declines in housing starts in April, due to the unprecedented decline in builder confidence in our latest member survey,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “It is worth noting that there are currently 534,000 single-family homes currently under construction and 684,000 apartments. Approximately 90% of these single-family units are located in states where home building is deemed as an ‘essential service,’ while 80% of apartments are located in such states.”
With respect to regional single-family and apartment construction, compared to a year ago, first quarter home production increased in all regions: 31.9% in the Northeast, 23% in the Midwest, 18.9% in the South and 27.1% in the West. These increases are due to strong construction data in January and February and weak comparable data at the start of 2019.
Overall permits declined 6.8% to a 1.35 million unit annualized rate in March. Single-family permits decreased 12% to an 884,000 unit rate, while multifamily permits increased 4.9% to a 469,000 pace. Looking at regional permit data on a year-to-date basis, permits are 9.6% higher in the Northeast, 8% higher in the Midwest, 11.3% higher in the in the South and 17% higher in the West.
Latest from NAHBNow
May 16, 2025
Court of International Trade Hears Arguments Against Trump TariffsA three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of International Trade this week heard oral arguments in one of several pending challenges to the “Liberation Day” tariffs imposed on April 2.
May 16, 2025
Single-Family Starts Down on Economic and Tariff UncertaintyOverall housing starts increased 1.6% 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.
Latest Economic News
May 15, 2025
Cost of Credit Eases for Builders and DevelopersThe cost of credit for residential Land Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) eased in the first quarter of 2025, according to NAHB’s survey on AD&C Financing.
May 15, 2025
Soft Spring Selling Season Takes a Toll on Builder ConfidenceBuilder confidence fell sharply in May on growing uncertainties stemming from elevated interest rates, tariff concerns, building material cost uncertainty and the cloudy economic outlook. However, 90% of the responses received in May were tabulated prior to the May 12 announcement that the United States and China agreed to slash tariffs for 90 days to allow trade talks to continue.
May 14, 2025
Permit Activity Declines in March 2025Permits continue a downhill trend for the third month in a row. Over the first three months of 2025, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 232,221. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a decline of 3.8% over the March 2024 level of 241311. For multifamily, the total number of permits issued nationwide reached 113,344. This is 3.7% below the March 2024 level of 117,695.