HOUSING STARTS AND BUILDING PERMITS IN APRIL 1998 PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING STARTS Privately owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,538,000, according to estimates reported today by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of the Census. This is 2 (+/-5) percent below the revised March rate of 1,575,000, but 4 (+/-6) percent above the April 1997 rate of 1,480,000. Single-family housing starts in April 1998 were at a rate of 1,241,000; this is 1 (+/-5) percent above the March figure of 1,232,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 256,000. The April rate for units in buildings with two to four units was 41,000. During the first 4 months of this year, 466,600 housing units were started compared with 439,600 units for the same period in 1997. This is an increase of 6 (+/-3) percent. BUILDING PERMITS NOTE: Seasonally adjusted statistics for building permits, January 1996 through March 1998, and unadjusted statistics for January through December 1997 have been revised. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing units authorized by building permits in April was 1,518,000; this is 3 (+/-1) percent below the revised March rate of 1,569,000, but 7 (+/-1) percent above the revised April 1997 figure of 1,423,000. Single-family authorizations in April 1998 were at a rate of 1,145,000; this is 1 (+/-1) percent above the March figure of 1,136,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 315,000 in April; this is 13 percent below the March figure of 362,000. The April rate of permit-authorized units in buildings with two to four units was 58,000. During the first 4 months of this year, 482,500 housing units were authorized by building permits compared with 439,500 units for the same period in 1997. This is an increase of 10 (+/-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 374,000; this is 1 percent below the February figure of 377,000. The March 1997 rate was 354,000. Before seasonal adjustment, total shipments in March 1998 were 31,700. The next press release is scheduled to be issued on Tuesday, June 16, 1998, 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 January 1998 Current Construction Reports, C20/98-1, 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 the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: APRIL 1998 In structures with - 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1997 - April 1,480 1,134 41 305 May 1,404 1,095 34 275 June 1,502 1,132 40 330 July 1,461 1,144 38 279 August 1,383 1,076 43 264 September 1,501 1,174 45 282 October 1,529 1,124 64 341 November 1,523 1,167 40 316 December 1,540 1,130 62 348 1998 - January 1,545 1,225 49 271 February(r) 1,616 1,263 63 290 March (r) 1,575 1,232 47 296 APRIL (p) 1,538 1,241 41 256 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 14 7 Not seasonally adjusted 1996 1,476.8 1,160.9 16.4 28.8 270.8 1997 1,474.0 1,133.7 18.1 26.4 295.8 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 6 9 2 1997 First 4 months 439.6 347.3 4.7 7.4 80.2 1998 First 4 months 466.6 374.2 4.7 8.9 78.8 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 10 14 6 1997 - April 142.3 109.5 1.8 2.2 28.9 May 136.3 106.2 1.2 1.9 27.0 June 140.4 108.8 1.4 2.6 27.5 July 134.6 107.4 1.9 1.5 23.7 August 126.5 98.8 1.5 2.0 24.2 September 139.2 108.3 2.2 2.0 26.7 October 139.0 99.2 2.0 4.4 33.4 November 112.4 83.7 1.6 2.2 25.0 December 106.0 73.9 1.8 2.3 28.1 1998 - January 91.2 72.3 0.8 1.5 16.5 February (r) 101.1 78.9 0.8 3.2 18.1 March(r) 131.0 105.9 1.6 2.1 21.4 APRIL (p) 143.3 117.1 1.4 2.0 22.8 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 13 21 7 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: $21.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY REGION: APRIL 1998 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1997 - April 1,480 135 297 698 350 May 1,404 123 297 624 360 June 1,502 116 311 707 368 July 1,461 146 302 668 345 August 1,383 126 277 645 335 September 1,501 139 304 696 362 October 1,529 113 328 714 374 November 1,523 182 272 661 408 December 1,540 131 337 677 395 1998 - January 1,545 159 342 665 379 February (r) 1,616 200 367 710 339 March (r) 1,575 141 330 712 392 APRIL (p) 1,538 131 345 692 370 AVG. RSE(%) 3 9 6 4 3 Not seasonally adjusted 1996 1,476.8 132.1 321.5 661.9 361.4 1997 1,474.0 136.8 303.6 670.3 363.3 AVG. RSE (%) 1 1 2 2 1 1997 First 4 months 439.6 39.0 77.6 211.3 111.8 1998 First 4 months 466.6 40.1 87.9 221.5 117.0 AVG. RSE (%) 1 9 4 2 2 1997 - April 142.3 13.1 28.4 68.6 32.2 May 136.3 11.7 31.5 58.8 34.4 June 140.4 11.6 31.9 62.3 34.5 July 134.6 14.6 30.0 58.9 31.1 August 126.5 11.6 28.1 55.5 31.3 September 139.2 13.7 29.7 62.6 33.1 October 139.0 11.2 34.0 60.9 33.0 November 112.4 14.7 21.2 49.4 27.1 December 106.0 8.8 19.6 50.6 27.0 1998 - January 91.2 8.0 14.4 42.9 25.9 February (r) 101.1 9.4 17.3 51.2 23.2 March (r) 131.0 10.5 24.1 61.8 34.6 APRIL (p) 143.3 12.2 32.2 65.6 33.3 AVG. RSE (%) 3 9 6 4 3 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: $21.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: APRIL 1998 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) 1996(r) January 1,387 1,051 63 273 February 1,420 1,085 60 275 March 1,437 1,108 60 269 April 1,463 1,108 74 281 May 1,457 1,096 66 295 June 1,429 1,089 64 276 July 1,450 1,074 67 309 August 1,413 1,061 63 289 September 1,392 1,037 70 285 October 1,358 1,010 68 280 November 1,412 1,031 68 313 December 1,411 1,015 62 334 1997(r) January 1,399 1,061 65 273 February 1,450 1,074 64 312 March 1,438 1,020 65 353 April 1,423 1,052 69 302 May 1,422 1,046 65 311 June 1,398 1,051 68 279 July 1,441 1,052 77 312 August 1,445 1,059 64 322 September 1,475 1,084 67 324 October 1,502 1,106 74 322 November 1,475 1,102 58 315 December 1,467 1,094 82 291 1998 - January (r) 1,553 1,142 70 341 February (r) 1,635 1,176 74 385 March (r) 1,569 1,136 71 362 APRIL (p) 1,518 1,145 58 315 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 4 2 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1996 1,425.6 1,069.5 33.6 32.2 290.3 1997 (r) 1,441.1 1,062.4 34.9 33.6 310.3 AVG. RSE(%) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) 1997 First 4 months 439.5 329.1 11.1 8.9 90.4 1998 First 4 months 482.5 362.5 9.7 10.6 99.6 AVG. RSE(%) (Z) (Z) (Z) (Z) (Z) 1997 (r) January 88.1 65.8 2.4 1.5 18.5 February 94.1 70.3 2.3 1.8 19.7 March 120.1 88.7 2.9 2.5 26.0 April 137.2 104.4 3.5 3.1 26.2 May 131.6 101.3 3.0 2.8 24.6 June 133.6 100.9 3.2 3.4 26.2 July 133.7 99.8 3.3 3.3 27.2 August 126.0 91.8 2.5 2.9 28.7 September 134.4 95.6 3.0 3.2 32.7 October 135.5 97.5 3.7 3.9 30.4 November 100.4 72.5 2.3 2.2 23.3 December 106.4 73.9 2.8 2.9 26.8 1998 - January 93.5 68.3 2.0 2.0 21.1 February 105.6 76.6 2.2 2.6 24.3 March (r) 138.0 103.8 2.8 3.4 28.0 APRIL (p) 144.6 112.9 2.7 2.7 26.3 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 5 7 2 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1997 - April 128.6 71.5 3.9 53.1 1998 - February (r) 120.5 68.4 4.3 47.8 March (r) 130.2 74.8 4.3 51.1 APRIL (p) 136.7 78.2 4.8 53.7 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 10 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: $21.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY REGION: APRIL 1998 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1996 (r) January 1,387 97 313 610 367 February 1,420 116 318 615 371 March 1,437 137 335 596 369 April 1,463 145 333 636 349 May 1,457 139 314 663 341 June 1,429 132 307 640 350 July 1,450 137 338 617 358 August 1,413 147 312 627 327 September 1,392 143 303 598 348 October 1,358 142 305 581 330 November 1,412 140 313 636 323 December 1,411 142 309 629 331 1997 (r) January 1,399 161 295 603 340 February 1,450 176 300 618 356 March 1,438 153 304 643 338 April 1,423 126 313 648 336 May 1,422 129 293 624 376 June 1,398 141 299 619 339 July 1,441 138 285 657 361 August 1,445 141 304 630 370 September 1,475 136 299 646 394 October 1,502 134 295 682 391 November 1,475 144 299 651 381 December 1,467 153 321 612 381 1998 - January (r) 1,553 174 336 667 376 February (r) 1,635 169 356 721 389 March (r) 1,569 146 311 733 379 APRIL (p) 1,518 132 311 660 415 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 2 1 1 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1996 1,425.6 136.9 317.8 623.4 347.4 1997 (r) 1,441.1 141.9 299.8 635.9 363.5 AVG. RSE(%) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) 1997 First 4 months 439.5 42.5 85.2 204.9 106.9 1998 First 4 months 482.5 42.8 90.3 226.7 122.7 AVG. RSE(%) (Z) (Z) (Z) (Z) (Z) 1997 (r) January 88.1 9.1 13.2 43.3 22.5 February 94.1 9.1 15.7 44.6 24.6 March 120.1 11.8 24.3 55.4 28.7 April 137.2 12.6 32.0 61.5 31.2 May 131.6 12.8 29.4 55.8 33.5 June 133.6 14.0 29.2 57.1 33.3 July 133.7 13.5 27.8 58.7 33.7 August 126.0 12.9 28.3 53.4 31.4 September 134.4 12.4 28.8 57.4 35.7 October 135.5 12.5 29.5 58.0 35.5 November 100.4 10.6 21.3 44.0 24.5 December 106.4 10.7 20.3 46.5 28.9 1998 - January 93.5 9.6 14.6 45.5 23.8 February 105.6 8.7 18.5 51.7 26.7 March (r) 138.0 11.7 25.7 67.5 33.1 APRIL (p) 144.6 12.7 31.3 62.0 38.6 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 2 1 1 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1997 - April 128.6 14.5 22.0 69.6 22.5 1998 - February (r) 120.5 11.1 16.7 65.1 27.7 March(r) 130.2 12.0 18.8 72.2 27.2 APRIL (p) 136.7 11.8 20.9 71.8 32.2 AVG. RSE(%) 3 9 9 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 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: $21.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703.