Homebuilders may be more upbeat about future sales but it is not showing up in terms of housing starts.
Single-family housing starts in April fell 2.1% from the prior month, while multifamily starts plummeted 38%, according to a new government report.
The Census Bureau reported Thursday morning that single-family starts fell to a 610,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in April, down 2.1% from a 623,000 rate in March. Starts have fallen for two consecutive months after hitting a 652,000 rate in February, the highest rate in nearly three years.
Builders completed construction of 41,400 single-family units in April, compared to 46,100 in March.
Demand for new homes appears to be solid. But small and midsize builders are still dealing with
A monthly survey of National Association of Home Builders members found that the builders’ outlook for sales improved in May. “Current sales conditions have improved and expectations for the future remain quite strong as consumers head back to the market in force,” said NAHB chief economist David Crowe.
Builders are noticing an “increased sense of urgency among potential buyers as a result of thinning inventories of homes for sale, continuing affordable mortgage rates and strengthening local economies,” said NAHB chairman Rick Judson, a homebuilder from Charlotte, N.C. “This is definitely an encouraging sign even amidst rising challenges with regard to the cost and availability of building materials, lots and labor.”
Meanwhile, apartment construction nose-dived in April after hitting a multiyear high in the prior month.
Multifamily starts hit a 376,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in March and fell to a 234,000 rate in April.
Overall, multifamily starts are down 2.5% from April 2012 and single-family starts are up 13% from a year ago.
