The National Association of Homebuilders reports single-family housing starts decreased 7.3% in April to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.10 million.
Overall housing starts, which include multifamily, had an annually adjusted rate of 1.72 million, a decrease of only 0.2%.
The report from the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development credited a surge in multifamily starts for the relatively stable overall rate. Starts on apartments and condos were up 15.3%.
NASB officials said the lower single-family starts shows a decline in confidence in the sector, attributable to increasing mortgage rates and ongoing supply chain and building materials cost issues. Association Chairman Jerry Konter expressed support for newly announced housing proposals from the Biden Administration but stressed more needs to be done to address lumber and materials prices, as well as supply chain constraints.
Robert Dietz, NASB’s chief economist, said the starts report shows evidence the single-family market is slowing and that the Association expects flat conditions for the rest of 2022, with a decline in 2023 due to worsening affordability.
Single-family units under construction are up 26% year-over-year and permits authorized but not started are up 8.5% year-over-year.
Overall permits, however, are down an annualized rate of 3.2% in April. Single-family permits dropped by 4.6%, and multifamily permits fell 1.0% (Source)