Housing production rebounded in March as buyer demand remains solid due to low mortgage interest rates. Overall housing starts increased 19.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.74 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. This was the fastest pace for combined single-family and multifamily construction since June 2006.
The March reading of 1.74 million starts is the number of housing units builders would begin if development kept this pace for the next 12 months. Within this overall number, single-family starts increased 15.3 percent to a 1.24 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. When comparing the first quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2020, single-family starts are up 19.6 percent. The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, increased 30.8 percent to a 501,000 pace.