Housing starts fell 9.5% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.569 million units after rising 19.4% in March, according to reuters.com. The decline likely was in part a result of increasing materials prices.
The rate was lower than economists’ expectations of 1.71 million units. Additionally, housing starts were up 67.3% compared with April 2020.
Applications for building permits, a good indication of future activity, rose 0.3% to 1.76 million units in April and are up 60.9% compared with April 2020.
Single-family starts fell 13.4% to 1.087 million units, and multifamily starts fell 1.4% to 470,000 units.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic fueled a housing market boom, it also has disrupted labor supply and led to shortages of lumber and other raw materials. The increase in materials prices is affecting the housing market and creating difficulties for first-time homebuyers.
