by Housing starts fell slightly from April 2023, while building permits fell 2% from the same period
WASHINGTON — The number of housing completions in April rose over April 2023 and March, while housing starts were slightly down from last year, and up from their March levels according to data released late last week by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Meanwhile, the issuing of building permits was down from both April 2023 and this past March, signaling the slowing of anticipated building activity amid an ongoing slowdown in existing home sales.
Housing completions in April totaled 1,623,000, up 14.6% from 1,416,000 in April 2023 and 8.6% above a revised March estimate of 1,495,000. Single-family housing completions rose 15.4% in April to 1,092,000 compared with a revised March rate of 946,000.
Building permits for privately owned housing units totaled 1,440,000, 2% below 1,470,000 in April 2023 and 3% below a revised March rate of 1,485,000. Single-family authorizations totaled 976,000, .8% below the revised March rate of 984,000.
Housing starts totaled 1,360,000 in April, .6% below 1,368,000 in April 2023 and 5.7% below the revised March estimate of 1,287,000. Single-family housing starts totaled 1,031,000, .4% below the revised March figure of 1,035,000.
The housing completions could give a boost to furniture sales in the near term as people start to move into homes with new floor plans and rooms that require an investment in furnishings to complement those settings. However, the slowdown in building permit activity suggests overall weakened demand because of higher interest rates that continue to dampen the sales of existing homes.
By region, the activity was as follows:
In the Northeast, there were 44,000 building permits issued, up 33.3% from the 33,000 issued in April 2023 and up 15.8% from the 38,000 issued in March. There were 72,000 units started, down 43.8% from the 128,000 started in April 2023 and down 22.6% from the 93,000 started in March. There were 109,000 units completed in April, down 19.9% from the 136,000 completed in April 2023 but up 19.8% from the 93,000 completed in March.
In the Midwest, there were 19,000 building permits issued for residential units in April, down 13.6% from the 22,000 issued in April 2023 and down 9.5% from the 21,000 issued in March. There were 181,000 units started in the region, up 3.4% from the 175,000 started in April 2023 and up 19.1% from the 152,000 started in March. By comparison, there were 204,000 units completed in April, down 5.1% from the 215,000 completed in April 2023 and up 14.6% from the 178,000 completed in March.
In the South, there were 147,000 building permits issued in April, down 14% from the 171,000 issued in April 2023 and down 3.3% from the 152,000 issued in March. There were 799,000 homes started, up 4.9% from the 762,000 started in April 2023 and up 10.1% from the 726,000 started in March. There were 944,000 units completed in the region, up 29% from the 732,000 completed in April 2023 and up 13.7% from the 830,000 completed in March.
In the West, there were 63,000 residential building permits issued in April, down 6% from the 67,000 issued in April 2023 and down 3.1% from the 65,000 issued in March. There were 308,000 units started in the region, up 1.7% from the 303,000 started in April 2023 and down 2.5% from the 316,000 started in March. There were 366,000 units completed in the West, up 9.9% from the 333,000 completed in April 2023 and down 7.6% from the 396,000 completed in March.
