by Building permits fell 24.8% and housing starts fell 17.2% below March 2022, while the number of units completed rose 13%
WASHINGTON — March building permits and housing starts remained below what they were a year ago, while housing completions were higher than March 2022, according to recently released figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Building permits for the month of March totaled 1,413,000, which was 24.8% below the 1,879,000 issued in March 2022, and 8.8% below the rate of 1,550,000 in February. Meanwhile, there were a total of 1,420,000 housing starts in March, which was 17.2% below the 1,716,000 issued in March 2022 and .8% below the estimate of 1,432,000 in February.
Housing completions were up nearly 13% year over year, rising to 1,542,000 in March, from 1,366,000 in March 2022. They were down .6% from the February estimate of 1,552,000.
Construction of single-family units was up in all three segments from February, rising 4.1% to 818,000 for single-family building permits, 2.7% to 861,000 for single-family housing starts and 2.4% to 1,050,000 for single-family housing completions.
This activity provides a window into one of the key drivers in home furnishings purchases as the layouts of these new homes are likely different from one’s prior living environment. As a result, people moving need all types of furniture ranging from new bedroom and dining room sets to a new living room suite or home office, for example.
The DOC data also breaks down the numbers further by four major regions of the country.
By region, construction activity is as follows:
In the Northeast: Building permits totaled 33,000, down 13.2% from the 38,000 issued in March 2022 and down 5.7% from the 35,000 issued in February. Housing starts were down 14.2% to 181,000 from 211,000 in March 2022 but were up 72.4% from 105,000 in February. The number of units completed in the region was up 12% in March to 121,000, from 108,000 in March 2022, and down 5.5% from the 128,000 reported in February.
In the Midwest, the number of building permits totaled 24,000, unchanged from both March 2022 and the month of February. Housing starts in the region totaled 133,000, down 44.4% from the 239,000 reported in March 2022 and down 23.6% from the 174,000 reported in February. The number of units completed rose 5.2% in March, to 202,000 from 192,000 in March 2022, and rose 3.1% from 196,000 in February.
In the South, the number of building permits issued totaled 170,000 in March, up 6.3% from the 160,000 issued in March 2022 and were down 2.3% from 174,000 issued in February. The number of housing starts totaled 848,000 in March, up .2% from the 846,000 reported in March 2022 and were up 6.8% from the 794,000 reported in February. The number of units completed fell 2.8% to 771,000 in March, from 793,000 in March 2022 and fell 10.9% from the 865,000 completed in February.
In the West, the number of building permits issued totaled 64,000 in March, down 5.9% from the 68,000 issued in March 2022, and down 4.5% from the 67,000 issued in February. The number of housing starts totaled 258,000 in March down 38.6% from the 420,000 issued in March 2022 and down 28.1% from the 359,000 issued in February. Housing completions in the region totaled 448,000, up 64.1% from the 273,000 completed in March 2022 and up 23.4% from the 363,000 completed in February.
