HOUSING STARTS AND BUILDING PERMITS IN APRIL 1996 PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING STARTS Privately owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,519,000, according to estimates reported today by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of the Census. This is 6 (+/-7) percent above the revised March rate of 1,435,000 and 19 (+/-7) percent above the April 1995 rate of 1,278,000. Single-family housing starts in April 1996 were at a rate of 1,214,000; this is 4 (+/-6) percent above the March figure of 1,165,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 257,000. The April rate for units in buildings with two to four units was 48,000. During the first 4 months of this year, 449,100 housing units were started compared with 386,800 units for the same period in 1995. This is an increase of 16 (+/-3) percent. BUILDING PERMITS The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing units authorized by building permits in April was 1,461,000; this is 3 (+/-2) percent above the revised March rate of 1,415,000 and 18 (+/-2) percent above the April 1995 estimate of 1,243,000. Single-family authorizations in April 1996 were at a rate of 1,117,000; this is 2 (+/-2) percent above the March figure of 1,092,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 273,000 in April. The April rate of permit-authorized units in buildings with two to four units was 71,000. During the first 4 months of this year, 442,000 housing units were authorized by building permits compared with 383,700 units for the same period in 1995. This is an increase of 15 (+/-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 364,000, 7 percent above the February figure of 341,000. The March 1995 rate was 326,000. Before seasonal adjustment, total shipments in March 1996 were 30,100. The next press release will include revisions to building permits data. Seasonally adjusted annual rates for January 1994 through April 1996 and unadjusted estimates for January through December 1995 will be revised. This press release is scheduled to be issued on Tuesday, June 18, 1996, 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 4 months to establish an underlying trend for total starts, 3 months for building permit authorizations, and 2 months for mobile home shipments. 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 December 1995/January 1996 Current Construction Reports, C20/96-1, includes 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 Manufacturing and Construction Division, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: APRIL 1996 In structures with - 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1995 - April 1,278 1,017 25 236 May 1,300 1,005 36 259 June 1,301 1,036 35 230 July 1,450 1,125 39 286 August 1,401 1,135 28 238 September 1,401 1,130 39 232 October 1,351 1,109 31 211 November 1,458 1,129 32 297 December 1,425 1,150 29 246 1996 - January 1,453 1,146 20 287 February(r) 1,514 1,183 33 298 March(r) 1,435 1,165 24 246 APRIL(p) 1,519 1,214 48 257 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 9 9 Not seasonally adjusted 1994 1,457.0 1,198.4 14.8 20.2 223.5 1995 1,354.1 1,076.2 14.3 19.4 244.1 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 10 5 1 1995 First 4 months 386.8 308.0 4.7 5.4 68.6 1996 First 4 months 449.1 358.2 3.9 6.2 80.8 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 10 8 3 1995 - April 116.9 93.9 1.1 1.1 20.8 May 130.5 102.3 1.3 1.8 25.0 June 123.4 100.5 1.6 1.9 19.4 July 129.1 102.0 1.8 1.9 23.4 August 135.8 108.5 0.6 2.1 24.6 September 122.4 97.7 1.7 1.7 21.3 October 126.2 101.5 0.8 1.6 22.2 November 107.2 82.0 1.2 1.6 22.4 December 92.8 73.7 0.5 1.3 17.2 1996 - January 90.7 68.9 0.3 0.8 20.6 February(r) 95.9 74.2 0.9 1.1 19.7 March(r) 115.4 96.8 0.9 1.0 16.6 APRIL(p) 147.2 118.3 1.7 3.2 23.9 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 14 11 9 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 Manufacturing and Construction Division, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY REGION: APRIL 1996 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1995 - April 1,278 108 276 577 317 May 1,300 129 256 576 339 June 1,301 124 289 567 321 July 1,450 115 290 713 332 August 1,401 119 320 626 336 September 1,401 116 308 616 361 October 1,351 120 278 606 347 November 1,458 103 318 708 329 December 1,425 93 305 679 348 1996 - January 1,453 99 333 625 396 February(r) 1,514 130 317 648 419 March(r) 1,435 139 324 627 345 APRIL(p) 1,519 137 328 657 397 AVG. RSE(%) 3 7 6 4 6 Not seasonally adjusted 1994 1,457.0 138.2 328.9 639.1 350.8 1995 1,354.1 117.7 290.1 615.0 331.3 AVG. RSE (%) 1 1 2 2 1 1995 First 4 months 386.8 31.2 71.2 187.2 97.2 1996 First 4 months 449.1 34.3 84.5 209.4 120.9 AVG. RSE (%) 1 3 3 2 2 1995 - April 116.9 9.6 25.9 53.5 27.9 May 130.5 13.1 27.7 56.5 33.2 June 123.4 13.1 31.0 49.5 29.9 July 129.1 10.6 26.6 61.9 30.0 August 135.8 12.0 33.7 56.7 33.4 September 122.4 10.4 28.6 51.7 31.7 October 126.2 12.1 29.6 53.6 30.9 November 107.2 8.6 24.7 51.6 22.3 December 92.8 6.5 17.1 46.3 22.8 1996 - January 90.7 5.0 14.7 43.8 27.2 February(r) 95.9 6.1 13.8 46.9 29.0 March(r) 115.4 10.0 23.9 53.9 27.6 APRIL(p) 147.2 13.3 32.2 64.7 37.1 AVG. RSE (%) 3 7 6 4 6 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 Manufacturing and Construction Division, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: APRIL 1996 In structures with - 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted annual rate (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 - April 1,243 905 61 277 May 1,243 930 63 250 June 1,275 958 65 252 July 1,355 1,011 61 283 August 1,368 1,044 63 261 September 1,405 1,073 72 260 October 1,384 1,051 68 265 November 1,448 1,069 73 306 December 1,478 1,110 64 304 1996 - January 1,372 1,050 65 257 February 1,411 1,082 58 271 March(r) 1,415 1,092 60 263 APRIL(p) 1,461 1,117 71 273 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 3 1 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994 1,371.6 1,068.5 31.4 30.8 241.0 1995 1,333.0 999.1 33.3 32.0 268.6 AVG. RSE(%) (Z) (Z) 2 3 1 1995 First 4 months 383.7 288.5 9.7 9.0 76.4 1996 First 4 months 442.0 343.9 10.3 9.2 78.5 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 4 3 1 1995 - April 110.2 83.2 2.8 2.5 21.6 May 122.7 95.4 3.4 2.7 21.3 June 129.3 97.5 3.3 3.3 25.1 July 116.4 88.5 2.3 2.4 23.2 August 132.3 101.0 3.2 3.0 25.1 September 121.6 89.5 3.0 3.1 26.0 October 121.1 90.3 3.2 3.3 24.2 November 107.2 77.8 3.0 3.0 23.5 December 96.7 68.4 2.0 2.0 24.2 1996 - January 87.3 65.5 2.1 1.9 17.8 February 94.9 73.6 2.1 1.8 17.4 March(r) 119.9 95.1 2.6 2.4 19.6 APRIL(p) 139.8 109.6 3.6 3.2 23.5 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 5 5 1 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 - April 125.9 70.8 5.0 50.0 1996 - February(r) 136.8 82.3 4.5 50.0 March(r) 149.0 90.9 6.2 51.9 APRIL(p) 145.9 89.5 6.0 50.4 AVG. RSE(%) 3 4 9 6 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. 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 Manufacturing and Construction Division, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY REGION: APRIL 1996 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 - April 1,243 128 269 540 306 May 1,243 115 266 539 323 June 1,275 114 280 556 325 July 1,355 113 297 601 344 August 1,368 118 304 601 345 September 1,405 124 299 631 351 October 1,384 122 310 629 323 November 1,448 122 318 641 367 December 1,478 129 306 646 397 1996 - January 1,372 107 308 588 369 February 1,411 115 322 598 376 March(r) 1,415 136 326 584 369 APRIL(p) 1,461 136 345 633 347 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 1 1 1 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994 1,371.6 138.5 305.2 585.5 342.4 1995 1,333.0 123.0 291.9 587.0 331.1 AVG. RSE(%) (Z) 1 1 1 1 1995 First 4 months 383.7 34.4 74.9 181.4 93.0 1996 First 4 months 442.0 35.0 91.3 202.1 113.5 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 1 1 1 1995 - April 110.2 11.3 24.9 47.2 26.8 May 122.7 12.0 29.5 50.6 30.6 June 129.3 12.1 29.3 53.4 34.5 July 116.4 10.5 27.0 49.2 29.8 August 132.3 11.9 31.3 56.0 33.0 September 121.6 10.8 27.5 54.2 29.1 October 121.1 11.7 30.6 51.7 27.1 November 107.2 10.2 24.3 46.4 26.3 December 96.7 7.9 17.3 43.6 27.8 1996 - January 87.3 5.5 14.0 44.2 23.5 February 94.9 6.0 16.8 46.0 26.1 March(r) 119.9 10.5 26.4 51.6 31.3 APRIL(p) 139.8 13.1 34.3 60.3 32.1 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 1 1 1 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 - April 125.9 18.4 18.0 63.4 26.1 1996 - February(r) 136.8 16.6 20.0 73.2 26.9 March(r) 149.0 17.3 23.2 76.9 31.6 APRIL(p) 145.9 17.2 25.4 75.1 28.2 AVG. RSE(%) 3 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. 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 Manufacturing and Construction Division, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301)457-4703.