The 12-month rolling total for new housing starts grew 11.6 percent year-over-year in April to 1,148,000 starts, which represents the second most starts in a 12-month period since August 2007. Even with the continued upward growth, the 12-month rolling total is still 20.7 percent below the 50-year average of 1,443,559 starts, Trulia reports.
Single-family starts are leading the way and increased 13.1 percent since April 2015 to a total of 749,600 in April 2016. Multifamily starts of buildings with five-plus units continue its decline from a 42-year high that was seen last year, although they still grew 10.1 percent year-over-year.
The South, meanwhile, continues to lead the country from a regional standpoint with a 12-month rolling total of 578,800 new starts, the best 12-month span since May 2008. The Midwest experienced a 12-month rolling total of 160,500 starts, the Northeast had a 12-month rolling total of 110,400 new starts (and led the country in terms of year-over-year growth at 27.3 percent), and the West saw 264,700 new starts.
The overall share of single-family starts is expected to continue to grow throughout the remainder of the year, causing the share of multifamily starts to drop further despite the fact that there has not been a drop in investment by multifamily builders.
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