U.S. Census Bureau: Monthly New Residential Construction, April 2021

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 2021:

Building Permits

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,760,000. This is 0.3 percent (±1.2 percent)* above the revised March rate of 1,755,000 and is 60.9 percent (±1.8 percent) above the April 2020 rate of 1,094,000. Single-family authorizations in April were at a rate of 1,149,000; this is 3.8 percent (±1.0 percent) below the revised March figure of 1,194,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 559,000 in April.

Housing Starts

Privately-owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,569,000. This is 9.5 percent (±10.8 percent)* below the revised March estimate of 1,733,000, but is 67.3 percent (±21.6 percent) above the April 2020 rate of 938,000. Single-family housing starts in April were at a rate of 1,087,000; this is 13.4 percent (±7.9 percent) below the revised March figure of 1,255,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 470,000.

Housing Completions

Privately-owned housing completions in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,449,000. This is 4.4 percent (±8.6 percent)* below the revised March estimate of 1,515,000, but is 21.7 percent (±15.8 percent) above the April 2020 rate of 1,191,000. Single-family housing completions in April were at a rate of 1,045,000; this is 0.1 percent (±8.4 percent)* above the revised March rate of 1,044,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 401,000.

For the full April report, click here.

Notice of Revision: With this release, unadjusted estimates of housing units authorized by building permits for January through December 2020 have been revised. Also, seasonally adjusted estimates of housing units authorized by building permits have been revised back to January 2015, and seasonally adjusted estimates of housing units authorized but not started, started, under construction, and completed have been revised back to January 2016. All revised estimates are available on our website.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau