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May 17, 2023US HOUSING STARTS AND BUILDING PERMITS, APRIL 2023 
Month over month (Apr 23 vs Mar 23, seasonally adjusted annualized rates)
According to the US Census Bureau and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, residential building permits declined 1.5% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1,416,000 permits in April 2023. Permits for single unit structures were up 3.1% while those for structures with 2 to 4 units increased 13.5%. Permits for structures with 5 units or more were down 9.7%.
Compared to March 2023, US housing starts increased 2.2% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1,401,000. Single dwelling unit starts increased 1.6% while starts for structures with 5 or more units were up 5.2%.
Year over year (Apr 23 vs Apr 22, seasonally adjusted annualized rates)
Compared to April 2022, residential building permits declined by 21.1% driven by declines primarily in single dwelling units. Permits for single unit structures fell 21.2%. Permits for structures with 2 to 4 units were up 1.7% and permits for structures with 5 units or more declined 23.0%.
Compared to the same month in 2022, US housing starts declined 22.3% in April 2023. Starts for single unit structures decreased 28.1% and starts for structures with 5 or more units were down 11.7%.
Year to date (Jan-Apr 23 vs Jan-Apr 22)
During the first four months compared to the same time in 2022 residential building permits were down 23.0% also driven primarily by single dwelling units. Single unit structures fell 30.7%. Permits for structures with 2 to 4 units were down 6.2% and permits with 5 units or more declined 10.0%.
Housing starts declined 20.2% during the first four months with single unit dwellings down 29.3%. Housing starts for units with 5 or more were down 0.6% compared to the same period in 2022.
Source: US Census Bureau New Residential Construction
US Census Bureau - retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Monthly data
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