WASHINGTON – The pace of housing starts fell by 2.6% to a 1.172 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in April, well below expectations for a rebound to a 1.260 million pace, data reported by the Commerce Department Tuesday morning showed.
There were downward revisions to the pace of starts in the previous two months, with March starts revised down to 1.203 million and February starts revised down to 1.288 million. Annual revisions back to January 2015 were incorporated into the data.
The pace of unadjusted starts stands 0.4% above its year ago level, suggesting little change. A gain in the NAHB index released on Monday suggests builders confidence remains high.
Building permits fell 2.5% to a 1.229 million rate, a slower rate than the 1.275 million pace expected.
After including the annual revisions, home building was slower in April compared with the first quarter, when starts averaged 1.242 million and permits averaged 1.260 million.
Housing starts of single-family homes rose 0.4% in April after a 5.1% decline in the previous month. Starts of multi-family homes fell 9.2%, based on an MNI calculation.
Starts were down 37.3% in the Northeast region and down 9.1% in the South, offset by a 41.1% jump in the Midwest and a 5.4% gain in the West region.
Completions fell 8.6% in April.
Homes permitted but not started were down 0.7% in April, suggesting that starts may not see a sharp rebound in May. Home under construction were unchanged in the month.
