Housing starts see sharp slide in January
Single‐family permits increased 1.6% to a rate of 1.015 million in comparison to the revised December 2023 rate of 999,000.
Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 405,000 in January, down 9% from December 2023 and decreasing 26.6% on a year-over-year basis.
“Multifamily construction is forecasted to post a large decline in 2024 as the number of units currently under construction is near the highest level since 1973,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Meanwhile, single-family production, which is currently running at a 1-million-unit annual rate, is roughly in line with builder sentiment that remains right below a breakeven level, according to our latest surveys. We are forecasting single-family starts to post a modest gain in 2024 as mortgage rates moderate on expected interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve later this year.”
On a regional basis compared to the previous month, January's combined single-family and multifamily starts fell by 20.6% in the Northeast, declined 30% in the Midwest, were 9.7% lower in the South, and diminished by 15.7% in the West.
Compared to the previous month, total permits in January climbed 19.4% in the Northeast, rose by 6.6% in the Midwest, fell by 7% in the South, and moved ahead 1.5% in the West.