Housing starts in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.089 million, a decrease of 8.8% compared with the revised February estimate of 1.194 million but an increase of 14.2% compared with the March 2015 rate of 954,000, according to estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Starts of single-family homes were at a rate of about 764,000, a decrease of 9.2% compared with the revised February rate of about 841,000. Starts of multifamily units (five units or more per building) were at a rate of about 312,000, a decrease of 8.5% compared with about 341,000 units in February.
Building permits in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.086 million, a decrease of 7.7% compared with the revised February rate of 1.177 million but an increase of 4.6% compared with the March 2015 estimate of 1.038 million.
Permits for single-family homes were at a rate of about 727,000, a decrease of 1.2% compared with the revised February figure of 736,000. Permits for multifamily units were at a rate of about 324,000, a decrease of 20.6% compared with 408,000 in February.
Housing completions were at an adjusted annual rate of 1.061 million, an increase of 3.5% compared with the revised February estimate of 1.025 million and an increase of 31.6% compared with the March 2015 rate of 806,000.
Completions of single-family homes were at a rate of about 734,000, a decrease of 0.3% compared with the revised February rate of about 736,000. Completions of multifamily units stood at about 316,000 for the month – an increase of 17.9% compared with 268,000 in February.