US housing starts and building permits for April 2021
- prior report 1739K revised to 1733K
- Housing Starts 1569K vs 1702K estimate, or -9.5% vs estimate of -2.1%.
- Building permits 1760K vs 1770K estimate, or +0.3% vs 0.6% estimate
- Single‐family housing completions in April were at a rate of 1,045,000; this is 0.1 percent (±8.4 percent)* above the revised March rate of 1,044,000
- single-family starts 1087K vs 1255K in March
- multi family starts 482K versus 478k last month
The numbers are somewhat of a surprise given the need for new housing (demand is clearly outstripping supply). However supply chain backlogs and higher material costs for things like lumber are putting a damper on building (at least for now).
For the full report from the US Census Bureau, CLICK HERE
Meanwhile Home Depot crushed earnings today citing unprecedented demand
- Earnings per share: $3.86, vs. $3.08 expected
- Revenue: $37.5 billion, vs. $34.96 billion expected
Consumers were also spending more during their visits. Average ticket rose 10.3% to $82.37.