By National Association of Home Builders
Elevated construction costs and constrained affordability conditions led to a reduction in single-family housing starts in January.
However, led by solid multifamily production, overall housing starts increased 7.2% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.49 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
The January reading of 1.49 million starts is the number of housing units builders would begin if development kept this pace for the next 12 months. Within this overall number, single-family starts decreased 2.8% to a 935,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate. The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, increased 30% to an annualized 552,000 pace.
