Single-Family Starts Exceed Multifamily

Single-Family Starts Exceed Multifamily

Single-family permits that start in October 2023 were 13% higher in the U.S. than the prior year

From September to October this year, multifamily starts and multifamily permitting rose in the U.S. as a whole. But on an annual basis, the picture was not so rosy, according to a report by RealPage Analytics.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) for multifamily starts fell 31.8% from last October—”a”much steeper decline than seen in the year-to-date unadjusted starts data,” the report stated. However, the SAAR was up 4.9% from September to 382,000 units.

October permits for multifamily housing also fell 27.8% from the prior year to 469,000 units. But that figure was 2.2% higher than in September.

On the other hand, multifamily completions rose 14.3% from the previous October, though they were down 12.6% in October compared to September to 408,000 units. There was no change in the number of units under construction from one month to the next, but the total of 987,000 was 8.3% higher than the prior year.

“The sharp annual decrease in multifamily permitting brought the SAAR of total residential permitting down 4.4% from last October to 1.487 million units, and multifamily starts were down 4.1% from last year to 1.372 million units,” the report noted.

The annual slump in multifamily permitting was felt in three of the four Census regions: the Midwest, South, and West. The only exception was the Northeast, where permitting rose 28.3% to 56,000 units. In contrast, the only region to see a year-over-year increase in the number of multifamily starts was the Midwest, where they rose 25.9% to 124,000 units. Compared to September, permits were down in the Midwest and West and up in the South and Northeast, while starts were down in the Northeast and South and up in the Midwest and West.

By metro, New York led the nation in multifamily permitting, though the rate slowed from the previous year. Others in the top 10 for permits granted were Austin, Dallas, Phoenix, Houston, Atlanta, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Miami, and Raleigh-Durham.

The story for single-family housing was somewhat different. Though unchanged from September, single-family permitting and starts in October 2023 were 13% higher in the USA than the prior year, with 968,000 permitted units and 970,000 starts. “Single-family completions were down slightly (-0.9%) for the month but were up 2% for the year to 993,000 units. The number of single-family units under construction was essentially unchanged from September’s pace of 669,000 units, but that was 14.5% less than one year ago,” the blog noted.

 

Source: Single-Family Starts Exceed Multifamily