by Calculated Risk on 1/19/2023 08:37:00 AM

From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions

Housing Starts:
Privately‐owned housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,382,000. This is 1.4 percent below the revised November estimate of 1,401,000 and is 21.8 percent below the December 2021 rate of 1,768,000. Single‐family housing starts in December were at a rate of 909,000; this is 11.3 percent above the revised November figure of 817,000. The December rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 463,000.

An estimated 1,553,300 housing units were started in 2022. This is 3.0 percent below the 2021 figure of 1,601,000.

Building Permits:
Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,330,000. This is 1.6 percent below the revised November rate of 1,351,000 and is 29.9 percent below the December 2021 rate of 1,896,000. Single‐family authorizations in December were at a rate of 730,000; this is 6.5 percent below the revised November figure of 781,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 555,000 in December.

An estimated 1,649,400 housing units were authorized by building permits in 2022. This is 5.0 percent below the 2021 figure of 1,737,000.
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts for the last several years.

Multi-family starts (blue, 2+ units) decreased in December compared to November.   Multi-family starts were down 14.9% year-over-year in December. 

Single-family starts (red) increased in December and were down 25.0% year-over-year.

The second graph shows single and multi-family housing starts since 1968.

This shows the huge collapse following the housing bubble, and then the eventual recovery - and the recent collapse in single-family starts.

Total housing starts in December were above expectations, however, starts in October and November were revised down, combined.

I'll have more later …