Posted May 19, 2016

Housing starts across the U.S. increased 6.6 percent in April, while permits increased 3.6 percent. This data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department puts starts at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.17 million and permits at 1.12 million.

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“This month’s modest rise in housing production is consistent with builder sentiment, which has remained steady and in positive territory in recent months,” said NAHB Chairman Ed Brady, a home builder and developer from Bloomington, Ill.

“Though housing construction data is relatively flat for the beginning of 2016, we anticipate a ramping up of housing production during the rest of the year, given a strengthening job market, low mortgage interest rates and favorable demographics,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. Find the NAHB's news release here.

Single-family housing starts rose 3.3 percent (778,000 units) while multifamily starts jumped significantly, growing 13.9 percent to 394,000 units. Single-family permits increased 1.5 percent to a rate of 736,000 while multifamily permits rose 8 percent to 380,000.

Builder Confidence
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes remained unchanged in May at a level of 58 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).

“Builder confidence has held steady at 58 for four straight months, which indicates that the single-family housing sector remains in positive territory,” said NAHB Chairman Ed Brady, a home builder and developer from Bloomington, Ill.  “However, builders are facing an increasing number of regulations and lot supply constraints.”

“The fact that future sales expectations rose slightly this month shows that builders are confident that the market will continue to strengthen,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Job creation, low mortgage interest rates and pent-up demand will also spur growth in the single-family housing sector moving forward.”  Find the full news release here.