Single-Family Housing Starts Improved 9 Percent Last Year

Despite a 4 percent dip in December, single-family housing starts went up 9.3 percent in 2016 compared to the year before.

According to NAHB Eye on Housing, the single-family sector is expected to continue to expand in 2017, as permits increased 4.7 percent in December to an annual rate of 817,000.

Including multifamily construction, total starts increased 11.3 percent last year to a 1.226 million seasonally adjusted annual rate.

Focusing on housing’s economic impact, in December 57% of homes under construction were multifamily (604,000). This multifamily count is 8% higher than a year ago. There were 450,000 single-family units under construction, a gain of 7% from this time in 2015. This is the highest count of single-family units under construction since 2008.

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