U.S. Census Bureau: Monthly New Residential Construction, January 2022

Special Notice: With the January 2022 data month, the monthly Building Permits Survey design has changed from a representative sample to a cut-off sample. This change allows complete local and county data on new housing units authorized by permits to be published monthly going forward. Initial summary level estimates for January 2022 are included in this release. Complete local, county and state estimates will be released at www.census.gov/construction/bps/ on February 24, 2022. For additional details on this change and the impact on New Residential Construction, see our updated Methodology Change FAQs.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for January 2022:

Building Permits

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,899,000. This is 0.7 percent above the revised December rate of 1,885,000 and is 0.8 percent above the January 2021 rate of 1,883,000. Single-family authorizations in January were at a rate of 1,205,000; this is 6.8 percent above the revised December figure of 1,128,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 629,000 in January.

Housing Starts

Privately-owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,638,000. This is 4.1 percent (±13.7 percent)* below the revised December estimate of 1,708,000, but is 0.8 percent (±12.5 percent)* above the January 2021 rate of 1,625,000. Single-family housing starts in January were at a rate of 1,116,000; this is 5.6 percent (±12.0 percent)* below the revised December figure of 1,182,000. The January rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 510,000.

Housing Completions

Privately-owned housing completions in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,246,000. This is 5.2 percent (±8.0 percent)* below the revised December estimate of 1,315,000 and is 6.2 percent (±10.0 percent)* below the January 2021 rate of 1,328,000. Single-family housing completions in January were at a rate of 927,000; this is 7.3 percent (±6.8 percent) below the revised December rate of 1,000,000. The January rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 309,000.

For the full January report, click here.

The February report is scheduled for release on March 17, 2022. 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/>.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau