HOUSING STARTS AND BUILDING PERMITS IN APRIL 1995 PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING STARTS Privately owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,236,000, according to estimates reported today by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of the Census. This is virtually unchanged (+/-6 percent) from the revised March rate of 1,231,000, but 16 percent below the April 1994 figure of 1,463,000. Single-family housing starts in April 1995 were at a rate of 983,000; this is virtually unchanged (+/-6 percent) from the March figure of 984,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 226,000. The April rate for units in buildings with two to four units was 27,000. During the first 4 months of this year, 383,000 housing units were started compared with 431,600 units for the same period in 1994. This is a decrease of 11 (+/-3) percent. BUILDING PERMITS NOTE: Seasonally adjusted statistics for building permits, January 1993 through March 1995, and unadjusted statistics for January through December 1994 have been revised. These revisions are shown in the tables. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing units authorized by building permits in April was 1,242,000; this is 1 (+/-1) percent above the revised March rate of 1,235,000, but 10 percent below the revised April 1994 estimate of 1,375,000. Single-family authorizations in April 1995 were at a rate of 904,000; this is 1 (+/-1) percent below the March figure of 911,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 278,000; this is 8 percent above the March rate of 257,000. The April rate of permit-authorized units in buildings with two to four units was 60,000. During the first 4 months of this year, 384,100 housing units were authorized by building permits compared with 416,400 units for the same period in 1994. This is a decrease of 8 (+/-1) percent. MOBILE HOME SHIPMENTS Statistics on mobile home shipments, which lag by 1 month, appear in the Current Construction Reports, series C20. In March, manufacturers' shipments of mobile homes were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 333,000; this is 1 percent below the February figure of 335,000. The March 1994 rate was 304,000. Before seasonal adjustment, total shipments in March 1995 were 29,200. The next press release is scheduled to be issued on Tuesday, June 20, 1995, at 8:30 A.M. EDT. EXPLANATORY NOTES In interpreting changes in the statistics in this release, note that month-to-month changes in seasonally adjusted statistics often show movements which may be irregular. It may take 3 months to establish an underlying trend for total starts, mobile home shipments and building permit authorizations. Except for those on mobile home shipments, the statistics in this release are estimated from sample surveys and are subject to sampling variability as well as nonsampling error including bias and variance from response, nonreporting, and undercoverage. Estimated average relative standard errors of preliminary data are shown in the tables. Whenever a statement such as "2 (+/-3) percent above" appears in the text, this indicates the range (-1 to +5 percent) in which the actual percent change is likely to have occurred. All ranges given for percent changes are 90- percent confidence intervals and account only for sampling variability. If a range contains zero, it is uncertain whether there was an increase or decrease; that is, the change is not statistically significant. For any comparison cited without a confidence interval, the change is statistically significant. The April 1995 Current Construction Reports, C20/95-4, will include explanations of confidence intervals and sampling variability. On average, the preliminary seasonally adjusted estimates of total housing starts and building permits are revised about +/-1 percent. Statistics on mobile home shipments are compiled from manufacturers' reports to the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards (NCSBCS). Questions regarding these data may be directed to Erica Filipek, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301) 457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: APRIL 1995 In structures with - 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1994 - April 1,463 1,209 31 223 May 1,489 1,197 36 256 June 1,370 1,174 18 178 July 1,440 1,219 32 189 August 1,463 1,174 40 249 September 1,511 1,235 42 234 October 1,451 1,164 39 248 November 1,536 1,186 62 288 December 1,545 1,250 33 262 1995 - January 1,366 1,055 38 273 February(r) 1,319 1,048 42 229 March(r) 1,231 984 36 211 APRIL(p) 1,236 983 27 226 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 10 8 Not seasonally adjusted 1993 1,287.6 1,125.7 11.1 18.3 132.6 1994 1,457.0 1,198.4 14.8 20.2 223.5 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 13 6 1 1994 First 4 months 431.6 366.8 3.9 5.6 55.4 1995 First 4 months 383.0 305.5 4.6 5.6 67.3 AVG. RSE(%) 2 2 9 13 4 1994 - April 137.6 114.3 1.1 2.1 20.2 May 148.8 122.3 1.6 1.5 23.4 June 136.4 117.6 0.7 1.2 17.0 July 127.8 110.4 1.1 1.6 14.7 August 139.8 110.1 1.9 2.4 25.3 September 130.1 105.2 1.4 2.0 21.5 October 130.6 101.3 1.4 1.6 26.3 November 113.4 87.8 2.5 2.5 20.7 December 98.5 76.8 0.4 2.0 19.3 1995 - January 84.5 63.6 0.8 1.5 18.7 February(r) 81.6 65.3 1.4 1.0 13.8 March(r) 102.9 84.8 1.3 1.8 15.0 APRIL(p) 114.0 91.9 1.0 1.3 19.8 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 15 13 8 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Erica Filipek, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301) 457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY REGION: APRIL 1995 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1994 - April 1,463 150 355 615 343 May 1,489 135 323 684 347 June 1,370 137 306 602 325 July 1,440 131 340 600 369 August 1,463 148 319 681 315 September 1,511 136 337 659 379 October 1,451 130 313 648 360 November 1,536 159 380 661 336 December 1,545 139 341 714 351 1995 - January 1,366 117 288 621 340 February(r) 1,319 131 280 562 346 March(r) 1,231 138 270 549 274 APRIL(p) 1,236 107 268 563 298 AVG. RSE(%) 3 7 5 4 5 Not seasonally adjusted 1993 1,287.6 126.5 297.7 561.8 301.7 1994 1,457.0 138.2 328.9 639.1 350.8 AVG. RSE (%) 1 2 2 2 2 1994 First 4 months 431.6 34.3 86.1 200.2 111.1 1995 First 4 months 383.0 31.0 70.5 186.3 95.3 AVG. RSE (%) 2 3 3 3 2 1994 - April 137.6 14.0 34.6 58.1 30.9 May 148.8 13.5 35.6 66.7 33.0 June 136.4 15.1 34.1 55.6 31.6 July 127.8 12.3 31.3 50.5 33.7 August 139.8 14.9 32.3 61.1 31.4 September 130.1 11.9 30.6 55.1 32.4 October 130.6 12.2 32.0 55.9 30.5 November 113.4 14.3 28.3 47.5 23.3 December 98.5 9.6 18.6 46.6 23.7 1995 - January 84.5 6.3 11.9 44.1 22.2 February(r) 81.6 5.9 12.7 40.2 22.9 March(r) 102.9 9.4 20.5 49.2 23.8 APRIL(p) 114.0 9.5 25.4 52.8 26.4 AVG. RSE (%) 3 7 5 4 5 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the s period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Erica FIlipek, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301) 457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: APRIL 1995 In structures with - 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted annual rate (17,000 permit-issuing places) 1993(r) January 1,177 989 47 141 February 1,148 953 52 143 March 1,056 881 44 131 April 1,104 922 52 130 May 1,112 911 48 153 June 1,130 932 51 147 July 1,174 977 53 144 August 1,230 1,000 52 178 September 1,251 1,028 59 164 October 1,287 1,071 58 158 November 1,357 1,125 58 174 December 1,461 1,161 55 245 1994(r) January 1,334 1,077 60 197 February 1,248 1,043 56 149 March 1,306 1,055 56 195 April 1,345 1,039 58 248 May 1,318 1,053 61 204 June 1,312 1,018 57 237 July 1,320 1,008 63 249 August 1,333 1,027 57 249 September 1,392 1,025 69 298 October 1,359 1,019 60 280 November 1,345 1,004 67 274 December 1,370 1,067 65 238 Seasonally adjusted annual rate (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994(r) January 1,386 1,113 68 205 February 1,271 1,063 56 152 March 1,335 1,074 61 200 April 1,375 1,067 61 247 May 1,377 1,101 65 211 June 1,350 1,062 60 228 July 1,347 1,049 61 237 August 1,386 1,063 59 264 September 1,426 1,066 61 299 October 1,401 1,046 69 286 November 1,358 1,025 68 265 December 1,420 1,105 61 254 1995 - January(r) 1,293 990 66 237 February(r) 1,282 931 54 297 March(r) 1,235 911 67 257 APRIL(p) 1,242 904 60 278 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 4 2 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994(r)(1) 1,333.7 1,034.5 30.5 30.3 238.4 1994(r) 1,371.6 1,068.5 31.4 30.8 241.0 AVG. RSE(%) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) 1994 First 4 months 416.4 338.6 9.0 9.5 59.2 1995 First 4 months 384.1 288.5 9.7 9.0 76.9 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 3 4 1 Not seasonally adjusted (17,000 permit-issuing places) 1994(r) January 77.5 61.2 1.7 1.6 12.9 February 80.2 67.8 1.4 2.3 8.8 March 123.4 101.9 2.8 2.3 16.4 April 124.7 99.2 2.7 2.6 20.1 May 125.9 103.1 2.8 2.8 17.2 June 135.0 104.8 2.9 2.9 24.4 July 112.3 87.2 2.5 2.5 20.1 August 126.7 97.6 2.9 2.8 23.5 September 124.3 88.1 2.8 3.2 30.3 October 113.4 83.7 2.8 2.5 24.4 November 99.7 73.4 3.0 2.4 20.9 December 90.7 66.5 2.1 2.5 19.6 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994(r) January 80.7 63.4 1.8 2.0 13.4 February 81.7 69.2 1.5 2.1 8.9 March 126.4 104.0 2.9 2.7 16.8 April 127.6 102.0 2.9 2.7 20.0 May 131.4 107.7 3.0 3.0 17.8 June 138.8 109.2 3.0 3.0 23.5 July 114.8 90.9 2.4 2.4 19.1 August 131.5 100.9 2.9 2.8 24.9 September 127.2 91.5 2.7 2.6 30.3 October 117.0 85.9 3.1 3.1 24.9 November 100.5 74.8 3.1 2.3 20.3 December 94.2 68.9 2.1 2.1 21.0 1995 - January 79.1 58.9 1.9 2.1 16.2 February 81.3 60.3 2.0 1.4 17.6 March(r) 113.4 86.0 3.1 3.0 21.3 APRIL(p) 110.2 83.3 2.7 2.4 21.8 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 6 6 2 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994 - April(1) 126.4 79.8 3.7 42.9 1995 - February(r) 113.6 64.7 3.7 45.2 March(r) 127.8 73.0 4.4 50.4 APRIL(p) 127.9 71.7 5.6 50.6 AVG. RSE(%) 4 4 13 5 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (X) Not applicable. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. (1) In 17,000 permit-issuing places. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Erica Filipek, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301) 457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY REGION: APRIL 1995 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate (17,000 permit-issuing places) 1993(r) January 1,177 142 281 485 269 February 1,148 143 267 486 252 March 1,056 108 253 423 272 April 1,104 117 240 475 272 May 1,112 128 257 458 269 June 1,130 129 266 455 280 July 1,174 127 261 500 286 August 1,230 130 281 522 297 September 1,251 137 286 514 314 October 1,287 146 299 541 301 November 1,357 141 329 557 330 December 1,461 171 326 646 318 1994(r) January 1,334 100 300 570 364 February 1,248 108 291 524 325 March 1,306 126 307 543 330 April 1,345 132 295 581 337 May 1,318 136 295 547 340 June 1,312 133 291 527 361 July 1,320 141 311 545 323 August 1,333 138 287 562 346 September 1,392 134 286 603 369 October 1,359 134 307 569 349 November 1,345 145 302 578 320 December 1,370 153 318 590 309 Seasonally adjusted annual rate (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994(r) January 1,386 103 299 597 387 February 1,271 109 279 549 334 March 1,335 123 302 572 338 April 1,375 136 301 594 344 May 1,377 142 307 583 345 June 1,350 146 299 560 345 July 1,347 160 303 572 312 August 1,386 143 306 590 347 September 1,426 136 297 616 377 October 1,401 131 324 592 354 November 1,358 138 304 599 317 December 1,420 168 325 616 311 1995 - January(r) 1,293 128 285 578 302 February(r) 1,282 115 280 547 340 March(r) 1,235 125 275 564 271 APRIL(p) 1,242 127 263 542 310 AVG. RSE(%) 1 3 2 2 2 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994(r)(1) 1,333.7 133.9 299.1 560.5 340.3 1994(r) 1,371.6 138.5 305.2 585.5 342.4 AVG. RSE(%) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) 1994 First 4 months 416.4 33.2 82.8 191.4 108.9 1995 First 4 months 384.1 34.0 74.7 182.0 93.4 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 1 1 1 Not seasonally adjusted (17,000 permit-issuing places) 1994(r) January 77.5 4.9 12.3 38.8 21.5 February 80.2 5.3 14.5 38.4 22.0 March 123.4 10.6 27.6 53.5 31.7 April 124.7 12.2 28.8 53.2 30.4 May 125.9 13.8 31.4 49.7 31.0 June 135.0 14.4 30.8 51.2 38.7 July 112.3 13.0 27.9 43.9 27.5 August 126.7 13.7 28.9 51.6 32.5 September 124.3 12.1 27.3 53.3 31.6 October 113.4 12.1 28.2 44.3 28.7 November 99.7 12.1 22.9 41.9 22.8 December 90.7 9.8 18.3 40.7 21.9 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994(r) January 80.7 5.0 12.2 40.6 22.8 February 81.7 5.3 13.9 40.0 22.5 March 126.4 10.3 27.1 56.4 32.5 April 127.6 12.6 29.6 54.4 31.1 May 131.4 14.3 32.8 52.9 31.4 June 138.8 15.6 31.6 54.6 37.0 July 114.8 14.7 27.3 46.2 26.6 August 131.5 14.2 30.7 54.1 32.5 September 127.2 12.3 28.3 54.3 32.2 October 117.0 11.9 29.9 46.0 29.2 November 100.5 11.5 23.0 43.4 22.6 December 94.2 10.8 18.8 42.6 22.0 1995 - January 79.1 6.5 12.3 41.5 18.8 February 81.3 5.5 13.7 39.4 22.7 March(r) 113.4 10.2 24.1 53.9 25.2 APRIL(p) 110.2 11.2 24.4 47.5 27.2 AVG. RSE(%) 1 3 2 2 2 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994 - April(1) 126.4 20.2 18.6 65.1 22.5 1995 - February(r) 113.6 16.1 13.6 59.4 24.5 March(r) 127.8 16.8 17.5 67.5 26.0 APRIL(p) 127.9 18.6 18.0 64.1 27.2 AVG. RSE(%) 4 11 11 5 5 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (X) Not applicable. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. (1) In 17,000 permit-issuing places. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Erica Filipek, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301) 457-4703.