Housing Starts Fall 10.6 Percent in April

May 17th, 2011 by Editor

Housing starts fell 10.6 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 523,000 units. Single-family starts declined 5.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 394,000 units in April, while multi-family starts dropped 24.1 percent to a rate of 129,000 units after rising 30.8 percent the month before.

“Consumers have not yet reached a level of confidence that is strong enough to begin lifting the housing market,” says NAHB chief economist David Crowe. “The fundamentals – such as economic growth and employment – are beginning to shape up and will eventually provide enough momentum to push housing forward at a healthy pace. But until then, builders are unwilling to move forward. The issuance of housing permits, an indication of future housing activity, has remained at about the same level as the first quarter of the year.”

Regionally, starts declined 4.8 percent in the Northeast and 23.0 percent in the South but increased 15.7 percent in the Midwest and 3.7 percent in the West.

Total permit issuance for new homes fell 4.0 percent to 551,000 units for the month. The single-family sector posted a 1.8 percent drop to 385,000 units while the multi-family sector posted an 8.8 percent drop to 166,000 units. Regionally, permit issuance was unchanged in the Northeast and declined 5.3 percent in the Midwest, 5.7 percent in the South and 0.8 percent in the West.

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