Privately owned housing starts in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,793,000, which is 0.3% above the revised February estimate of 1,788,000 and 3.9% above the March 2021 rate of 1,725,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Single‐family housing starts in March were at a rate of 1,200,000, or 1.7% below the revised February figure of 1,221,000. The March rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 574,000.

“Today’s new residential construction report from the Census Bureau showed housing starts rising 0.3% over the month of March on a seasonally adjusted basis to a rate of 1.79 million annualized units,” says Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae. “This was modestly above our expectations, stemming from a larger than anticipated gain in multifamily starts, which increased 4.6% over the month.”

Housing units authorized by building permits in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,873,000, which is 0.4% above the revised February rate of 1,865,000 and 6.7% above the March 2021 rate of 1,755,000. Single‐family authorizations last month were at a rate of 1,147,000, or 4.8% below the revised February figure of 1,205,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 672,000.

March’s housing completions were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,303,000, which is 4.5% below the revised February estimate of 1,365,000 and 13% below the March 2021 rate of 1,497,000. Single‐family housing completions last month were at a rate of 1,000,000, or 6.4% below the revised February rate of 1,068,000. The March rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 292,000.

“With mortgage rates now having risen nearly 200 basis points since mid-December, this represents one of the fastest rate increases for such a time frame on record,” continues Duncan. “We expect it is only a matter of time before this weighs significantly on housing demand due to worsening affordability.”