The number of housing starts in the United States in March fell by 11.4% compared to the previous month and amounted to 1.324 million in annualized terms, the country’s Commerce Department reported.
This is the maximum decline in the last year.
According to the revised data, in February the number of new buildings amounted to 1.494 million, not 1.501 million, as previously reported.
Analysts on average had forecast a 5.4% decline from the previously announced February level, to 1.42 million, according to Trading Economics.
The construction of single-family homes fell by 14.2% last month to 940 thousand. At the same time, the number of new apartment buildings (including apartments and condominiums), a more volatile segment of the market, remained unchanged at 371 thousand.
The number of permits for the construction of new homes in March increased by 1.6% to 1.482 million in terms of annualized rates. Experts expected an average of 1.45 million.
The number of building permits for single-family homes decreased by 2% to 978 thousand, while the number of apartment buildings jumped by 10.1% to 445 thousand.
The number of new buildings in the US last month was 1.9% higher than in March 2024.
