957k apartments being built as of Feb, most since 1973 but still not enough
National Association of Homebuilders chief economist Robert Dietz commented on today’s HUD/Census housing starts report, saying building of new homes is still ‘anemic’ at 1.45 million units for February.
He explains that this 1.45 million reading is the number of houses and apartments builders would begin if development kept its current pace for the next 12 months. Robert notes most of that is led by apartment construction gains.
This would put newly begun single family home builds at a pace of 830,000 annually, and apartments at 620,000.
As for what’s happening right now (chart above), Robert notes the number of single family homes under construction is 734,000 houses, down 11.4% from May 2022 cycle peak).
And the number of apartments under construction is 957,000, the highest total since November 1973.
As for the inventory shortage we have in America, Robert notes 58,000 houses began construction in February while 77,100 completed construction. He said this dynamic why we have an ongoing decline in how many houses are getting built.
Part of the problem is builder strain, as noted below. And his full post is below that.
NAHB said single-family home building pace stayed anemic in February (1.45m units annualized) as builders battle high rates, high construction costs, tightening credit that banking turmoil may make worse. Led by gains in apartment construction. Here's a briefing.
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Check It Out:
– Single-Family Starts Remain Lackluster but Will Rebound Later This Year | Eye On Housing