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Residential construction of new homes – known as housing starts – continues to register monthly declines as a combination of still-high home prices along with rapidly rising mortgage rates results in collapsing home affordability. While economists continue to debate if and when the U.S. economy enters a recession – it’s clear that housing overall, and the home building segment specifically – is already there.
The latest data released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly show that housing starts – a measure of residential construction activity – continue its downward spiral, dropping in September to a rate of 1.4 million units, below economists’ forecast. Single-family housing starts hit their lowest level in more than two years as a slowing economy and sky-high mortgage rates depress demand for housing.
In the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, we learn that overall housing starts have hit their lowest level since February 2021 as climbing mortgage rates combined with still-high housing prices have made homes unaffordable for many Americans. The same report also notes that building permits have declined as well, suggesting housing will remain in decline for some time to come.
After a dramatic double-digit drop in May, June housing starts declined again, with overall starts not only dropping below May’s rate to a nine-month low but also coming in well below the rate in June 2021. Single-family starts in June hit their lowest seasonally adjusted annual rate since July 2020.
A new report by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development notes that residential housing construction starts (housing starts) has taken a pretty severe downturn in May with overall starts sliding fully -14.4%. This is yet another indicator of the slowing growth in the housing market, as rising mortgage rates, overall inflation, and high housing prices begin to cool the once red-hot housing market.
Sales of newly constructed homes virtually collapsed in April in a double-digit decline that surprised economists and added to the growing evidence that the housing market is entering a downturn. This downturn in housing adds to growing concerns of a recession, as it comes on the heels of the tech industry decline, and new retailer warnings of slackening demand and supply chain driven cost increases.
In yet another sign of a slowing economy, April residential housing construction starts declined for the second straight month in a row. At the same time, the Housing Market Index, a key gauge of homebuilder confidence, collapsed in May.
In new data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, residential housing construction starts dropped 1.6% in September as compared to the previous month’s reading. This rate is the lowest level of housing starts in five months. Also concerning, building permits – a leading indicator of future construction – registered a sharp drop, down 7.7% below the previous month.
In yet another sign that the increasing momentum down the path to economic recovery will still be a very bumpy journey, residential housing construction starts (housing starts) in April showed declines in both the overall reading for all types of homes as well as for single-family homes. While both showed double digit declines in the initial report for April, they are both still well over the readings experienced in April 2020, at the height of the rollout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In new data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, residential construction – housing starts – appear to have taken off in March, rocketing to nearly 15-year highs. This is welcome news, as a serious shortage of available homes has been constraining housing sales recently. An increase in construction will help add inventory for sale. This shortage emerged after a protracted period of sales growth as urban dwellers left over-crowded cities during the time of COVID-19 for more spacious digs in the suburbs.
