April 2021 New Residential Construction – Census Bureau

April 2021 New Residential Construction data from the Census Bureau out May 18th shows permits for single family homes down 3.8% from last month but up 70.7% from April of 2020. Permits for developers have increased by 11.1% from last month and 44.4% from April of 2020 suggesting developers may be moving on opportunities in the market. 

Delays in starts after issuance of permits are up 4% for single family homes and 5.4% for developers from last month; while the number of permits issued and not started has increased by 43.2% from last year. Increases in delays may be due to additional regulation and increased volatility of material prices. 

Single family home starts fell 13.4% from last month but remain up 58.7% from last year. Developer starts are up 4% from last month while increasing 38% from last year. Decreases in starts of single family homes suggests that supply is finally beginning to catch up with demand for new houses. Strong increases in developer starts from last month may confirm developers increased demand for new opportunities.  

We see marginal changes in units under construction from last month and we see no change in completion of signal family homes, another possible signal that the new housing market is cooling down. We do see an overall increase of 13.8% in single family units finished this year from this time last year and 24.7% more single family homes under construction this year than this time last year, representing a strong increase in demand for new homes over the past year.