U.S. Census Bureau: Monthly New Residential Construction, April 2020

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for April 2020:

Building Permits

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,074,000. This is 20.8 percent (±0.9 percent) below the revised March rate of 1,356,000 and is 19.2 percent (±0.9 percent) below the April 2019 rate of 1,330,000. Single-family authorizations in April were at a rate of 669,000; this is 24.3 percent (±1.6 percent) below the revised March figure of 884,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 373,000 in April.

Housing Starts

Privately-owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 891,000. This is 30.2 percent (±11.0 percent) below the revised March estimate of 1,276,000 and is 29.7 percent (±8.1 percent) below the April 2019 rate of 1,267,000. Single-family housing starts in April were at a rate of 650,000; this is 25.4 percent (±9.6 percent) below the revised March figure of 871,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 234,000.

Housing Completions

Privately-owned housing completions in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,176,000. This is 8.1 percent (±13.5 percent)* below the revised March estimate of 1,279,000 and is 11.8 percent (±9.9 percent) below the April 2019 rate of 1,334,000. Single-family housing completions in April were at a rate of 865,000; this is 4.9 percent (±16.7 percent)* below the revised March rate of 910,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 304,000.

The May report is scheduled for release on June 17, 2020. View the full schedule in the Economic Briefing Room: www.census.gov/economic-indicators. The full text and tables for this release can be found at www.census.gov/construction/nrc.

Statement Regarding COVID-19 Impact

Due to recent events surrounding COVID-19, many governments and businesses are operating on a limited capacity or have ceased operations completely. The Census Bureau has monitored response and data quality and determined estimates in this release meet publication standards. For more information on the compilation of this month’s report, see COVID-19 FAQ.

Notice of Revision

With this release, unadjusted estimates of housing units authorized by building permits for January through December 2019 have been revised. Also, seasonally adjusted estimates of housing units authorized by building permits have been revised back to January 2014, and seasonally adjusted estimates of housing units authorized but not started, started, under construction, and completed have been revised back to January 2015. All revised estimates are available on our website.

For the full April report, click here.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau