by Some bright spots emerge in regions where housing construction, completion levels rise compared to November and last year
WASHINGTON — Building permits and housing starts fell again during the month of December, continuing a downward trend affected by still high interest rates that continue to curb people’s ability to borrow for new single-family homes.
Building permits for privately owned housing units totaled 1,330,000, which was 1.6% below a revised November rate of 1,351,000 units and 29.9% below the December 2021 rate of 1,896,000.
Authorizations for single-family homes totaled 730,000, or 6.5% below the revised November figure of 781,000. Authorizations for buildings with five or more units was 555,000 in December.
There were 1,649,400 housing units authorized by building permits in 2022, down 5% from 1,737,000 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Housing starts totaled 1,382,000 in December, 1.4% below the revised November estimate of 1,401,000 and 21.8% below the 1,768,000 reported in December 2021. Single-family permits totaled 909,000, or 11.3% below the revised figure of 817,000 in November. This compared to the December rate of 463,000 for buildings with five or more units.
A total of 1,553,000 housing starts were recorded in 2022, down 3% from 1,601,000 in 2021.
Privately owned housing completions totaled 1,411,000 in December, down 8.4% from a revised November estimate of 1,540,000 and 6.4% above the December 2021 rate of 1,326,000.
A total of 1,005,000 single-family housing completions were recorded in December, 8% below the revised November rate of 1,092,000. The rate in December for buildings with five or more units was 385,000.
There were an estimated 1,392,000 housing units completed in 2022, 3.8% above the 1,341,000 completed in 2021.
By region the activity was as follows:
+ In the Northeast, there were 115 building permits issued for residential properties in December, down 2.5% from November and down 57.7% from December 2021.
+ In the same region, there were 212 housing starts in December, up 135.6% from November and up 50.4% from December 2021.
+ There were also 111 units completed in December in the Northeast, down 49.3% from November and down 7.5% from December 2021.
+ In the Midwest, there were 168 building permits issued, down 15.6% from November and down 35.4% from December 2021.
+ In the same region there were 129 housing starts, down 37.4% from November and down 61.5% from December 2021.
+ There were 186 units completed in the Midwest in December, down 6.1% from November, but up 8.8% from December 2021.
+ In the South, there were 740 building permits issued in December, down 1.7% from November and down 21.4% from December 2021.
+ In the same region, there were 717 housing starts, down 4% from November and down 20.4% from December 2021.
+ There were 760 units completed in the South, down 6.1% from November, but up 1.7% from December 2021.
+ In the West, there were 307 building permits issued in December, up 9.3% from November but down 27.4% from December 2021.
+ In the same region, there were 324 housing starts, down 9.5% from November and down 17.1% from December 2021.
+ There were 354 units completed in the West, up 12.7% from November and up 22.9% from December 2021.
