Starts, Permits Plummet As Rates Stabilize Near 7%
Residential construction reversed gains in March, clocking its biggest dip since August 2023 as builders watch rising rates.
Starts and permits both slipped in March, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Starts tumbled by a stunning 14.7% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,321,000. This is below all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
Permits were down 4.3% to an adjusted rate of 1,458,000. Both single- and multi-family projects were impacted, with multi-family construction slipping to their lowest point since the beginning of the pandemic.
This is a reversal from the month prior’s boost, the result of a wave of construction resuming after winter weather restrained builders at the beginning of 2024. With milder weather,…