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May 18, 2021US HOUSING STARTS AND BUILDING PERMITS, APRIL 2021 With April reference month results, year-over-year (Apr 2021 vs Apr 2020) and year-to-date (Jan-Apr 21 vs Jan-Apr 20) are beginning to show the rebounds in economic activity from the unprecedented declines observed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
BUILDING PERMITS
According to the US Census Bureau and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, residential building permits rose 0.3% from the revised March estimate of 1,755,000 permits to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1,760,000 permits in April 2021.
US residential building permits increased 60.9% over the same month last year, when permits dropped due to the onset of the pandemic. Permits increased for all structure types, as permits for single unit structures increased 70.7%, those with 2 to 4 units increased 52.9%, and permits for structures with 5 units or more increased 44.4%.
In the first four months of 2021, residential permits were up 29.4%, with increases for single unit structures (+33.7%), those with 2 to 4 units (+23.8%) and structures with 5 or more units (+21.4%).
HOUSING STARTS
In April 2021, US housing starts declined 9.5% compared to the revised March estimate of 1,733,000, to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1,569,000 units.
US housing starts increased 67.3% over April 2020, when housing starts dropped due to the onset of the pandemic. Starts for single unit structures were up 58.7%, and starts for structures with 5 or more units rose 97.5%.
Year to date, US housing starts are up 18.2% compared to Jan-Apr 2020, with increased starts for single unit (+25.6%) and structures with 5 or more units (+2.7%).
Source:
US Census Bureau New Residential Construction
US Census Bureau - retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Monthly data
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