Housing startsSeasonally adjustedRevised
U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development · monthly · 812 observations
560th highest of 812 months since Jan 1959 (Census SAAR series since 1959)
−2.6% vs prior month−1.2% vs a year earlier
Source: U.S. Census Bureau and HUD
About this series
What it measures
The number of new privately owned housing units that began construction in the month, expressed as a seasonally adjusted annual rate in thousands. The Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development publish it jointly each month in the New Residential Construction release. The headline is total starts at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, which assumes that month's pace continued for a full year.
Why it matters
Building activity feeds directly into GDP and future housing supply.
Common misreads
It comes from a sample survey with wide 90% confidence intervals, so many monthly changes are not statistically significant; Census cautions that it can take several months to establish a trend in starts. Preliminary estimates are revised. Each apartment unit counts as a start, so a few large buildings can move the total.