by Calculated Risk on 1/18/2024 08:30:00 AM

From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions

Housing Starts:
Privately‐owned housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,460,000. This is 4.3 percent below the revised November estimate of 1,525,000, but is 7.6 percent above the December 2022 rate of 1,357,000. Single‐family housing starts in December were at a rate of 1,027,000; this is 8.6 percent below the revised November figure of 1,124,000. The December rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 417,000.

An estimated 1,413,100 housing units were started in 2023. This is 9.0 percent below the 2022 figure of 1,552,600.

Building Permits:
Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,495,000. This is 1.9 percent above the revised November rate of 1,467,000 and is 6.1 percent above the December 2022 rate of 1,409,000. Single‐family authorizations in December were at a rate of 994,000; this is 1.7 percent above the revised November figure of 977,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 449,000 in December.

An estimated 1,469,800 housing units were authorized by building permits in 2023. This is 11.7 percent below the 2022 figure of 1,665,100.
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts since 2000.

Multi-family starts (blue, 2+ units) increased in December compared to November.   Multi-family starts were down 7.9% year-over-year in December.

Single-family starts (red) decreased in December and were up 15.8% year-over-year.

The second graph shows single and multi-family housing starts since 1968.

This shows the huge collapse following the housing bubble, and then the eventual recovery - and the recent collapse and recovery in single-family starts.

Total housing starts in December were above expectations, however, starts in October and November were revised down, combined.

I'll have more later …