Housing starts in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,216,000, 22.3% below the revised February estimate of 1,564,000 but 1.4% above the March 2019 rate of 1,199,000, the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced Thursday. Single‐family housing starts in March were at a rate of 856,000, a drop of 17.5% from February. The March rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 347,000, way down from 511,000 the month before.
Building permits in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,353,000, 6.8% below the revised February rate of 1,452,000, but 5.0% above the March 2019 rate of 1,288,000. Single‐family authorizations in March were at a rate of 884,000. down 12.0% from February’s figure of 1,005,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 423,000 in March, up from 402,000 in February.
Housing completions in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,227,000, 6.1% below the revised February estimate of 1,307,000 and 9.0% below the March 2019 rate of 1,348,000. Single‐family housing completions in March were at a rate of 863,000, a 15% decline from February. The March rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 357,000, up fro 283,000 the month prior.
“Housing starts fell in March, led by a particularly sharp drop in multifamily building,” said Mike Fratantoni, SVP and chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association. “Construction activity declined across the country, but was particularly weak in the Northeast, which makes sense given the severe impact of the pandemic in New York. It is important to note that construction activity was running strong in the first two months of 2020, and even with March’s decline, single-family starts were 2.8% ahead of last year’s pace, and building overall remained 1.4% higher. Similarly, permits declined for the month, but single-family remained ahead of last year’s pace, indicating that plans for building will continue, despite the sharp drop in economic activity occurring in the second quarter. Overall, March’s downshift in the pace of building aligns with this week’s MBA report on mortgage applications for new home purchases.”
