March saw a reduction in housing production, the National Association of Home Builders' Eye On Housing Blog reports. The total number of single-family homes and apartments under construction was 1.4 million last month—the lowest total since July 2021. Total housing units now under construction are 15.2% lower than a year ago. Housing starts also decreased last month, a drop that can be attributed to constrained housing affordability conditions due to high interest rates, rising construction costs, and the continuing labor shortage.
Overall housing starts decreased 11.4% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.32 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
The March reading of 1.32 million starts is the number of housing units builders would begin if development kept this pace for the next 12 months. Within this overall number, single-family starts decreased 14.2% to a 940,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate over the month and are down 9.7% compared to March 2024. On a year-to-date basis, single-family starts are down 5.6%. The three-month moving average (a useful gauge given recent volatility) is down to 1.01 million units ... Read more
