Housing Starts Still on the Rebound

Nationally, housing starts declined 13.4 percent overall, compared to March 2010, with declines of 21.1 percent for single units and 28.6 percent for 5 or more units.

Privately-owned housing starts in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 549,000. This is 7.2 percent (plus or minus 18 percent)* above the revised February estimate of 512,000, but is 13.4 percent (plus or minus 9.1 percent) below the March 2010 rate of 634,000.

Single-family housing starts in March were at a rate of 422,000; this is 7.7 percent (plus or minus 15 percent)* above the revised February figure of 392,000. The March rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 117,000.

The Northeast was the region that fared the best with an overall decline of 10.6 percent and 35.1 percent for single units. The region that fared the poorest was the West, with declines of 18.4 percent overall and 25.2 percent for single units.

- Courtesy of U.S. Census Bureau