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

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 2022:

Building Permits

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,819,000. This is 3.2 percent below the revised March rate of 1,879,000, but is 3.1 percent above the April 2021 rate of 1,765,000. Single-family authorizations in April were at a rate of 1,110,000; this is 4.6 percent below the revised March figure of 1,163,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 656,000 in April.

Housing Starts

Privately-owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,724,000. This is 0.2 percent (±8.7 percent)* below the revised March estimate of 1,728,000, but is 14.6 percent (±14.2 percent) above the April 2021 rate of 1,505,000. Single-family housing starts in April were at a rate of 1,100,000; this is 7.3 percent (±7.7 percent)* below the revised March figure of 1,187,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 612,000.

Housing Completions

Privately-owned housing completions in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,295,000. This is 5.1 percent (±11.5 percent)* below the revised March estimate of 1,365,000 and is 8.6 percent (±7.5 percent) below the April 2021 rate of 1,417,000. Single-family housing completions in April were at a rate of 1,001,000; this is 4.9 percent (±14.1 percent)* below the revised March rate of 1,053,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 281,000.

Notice of Revision: With this release, unadjusted estimates of housing units authorized by building permits for January through December 2021 have been revised. Also, seasonally adjusted estimates of housing units authorized by building permits have been revised back to January 2016, and seasonally adjusted estimates of housing units authorized but not started, started, under construction, and completed have been revised back to January 2017. All revised estimates are available on our website.

For the full April report, click here.

The May report is scheduled for release on June 16, 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