Housing starts in the US increased 4.3 percent to an annualized rate of 974 thousand in May of 2020, below market forecasts of 1,095 thousand and only slightly higher than an upwardly revised 934 thousand in April. It is the second-lowest level since 2015, suggesting the housing market recovery will be slower than expected. Starts for the volatile multi-family segment jumped 16.9% to 291 thousand while single-family housing which is the largest share of the housing market, edged up 0.1% to 675 thousand. Rises were seen in all regions: the Northeast (82 percent to 111 thousand), the Midwest (18.4 percent to 167 thousand), the West (12.3 percent to 283 thousand) and the South (7.7 percent to 659 thousand). Year-on-year, housing starts sank 8.8%.

Housing Starts in the United States averaged 1428.42 Thousand units from 1959 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 2494 Thousand units in January of 1972 and a record low of 478 Thousand units in April of 2009. This page provides the latest reported value for - United States Housing Starts - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. United States Housing Starts - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on July of 2020.

Housing Starts in the United States is expected to be 1240.00 Thousand units by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Housing Starts in the United States to stand at 1200.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the United States Housing Starts is projected to trend around 1170.00 Thousand units in 2021 and 1270.00 Thousand units in 2022, according to our econometric models.

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United States Housing Starts

Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
974.00 934.00 2494.00 478.00 1959 - 2020 Thousand units Monthly
Volume, SA


Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2020-05-19 12:30 PM Housing Starts MoM Apr -30.2% -18.6% -30.1%
2020-05-19 12:30 PM Housing Starts Apr 0.891M 1.276M 0.927M 0.85M
2020-06-17 12:30 PM Housing Starts May 0.974M 0.934M 1.095M 1.050M
2020-06-17 12:30 PM Housing Starts MoM May 4.3% -26.4% 17.8%
2020-07-17 12:30 PM Housing Starts Jun 0.974M 1.15M 1.1M
2020-08-18 12:30 PM Housing Starts Jul
2020-09-17 12:30 PM Housing Starts Aug
2020-10-20 12:30 PM Housing Starts Sep 1.1M
Go to our Calendar for more events. Or learn more about the Calendar API for direct access.


News Stream
US Housing Starts Rise Less than Expected
Housing starts in the US increased 4.3 percent to an annualized rate of 974 thousand in May of 2020, below market forecasts of 1,095 thousand and only slightly higher than an upwardly revised 934 thousand in April. It is the second-lowest level since 2015, suggesting the housing market recovery will be slower than expected. Starts for the volatile multi-family segment jumped 16.9% to 291 thousand while single-family housing which is the largest share of the housing market, edged up 0.1% to 675 thousand. Rises were seen in all regions: the Northeast (82 percent to 111 thousand), the Midwest (18.4 percent to 167 thousand), the West (12.3 percent to 283 thousand) and the South (7.7 percent to 659 thousand). Year-on-year, housing starts sank 8.8%.
2020-06-17
US Housing Starts Sink 30%
Housing starts in the US plunged 30.2% month-over-month to an annualized rate of 0.891 million in April of 2020, below market forecasts of 0.927 million. It is the lowest reading since February of 2015 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Starts for the volatile multi-family segment slumped 40.3% to 0.234 million while single-family housing which is the largest share of the housing market, went down 25.4% to 0.65 million. Declines in housing starts were seen in all regions: the South (-26% to 0.532 million), the West (-43.4% to 0.184 million), the Midwest (-14.9% to 0.131 million) and the Northeast (-42.6% to 0.044 million). Year-on-year, housing starts sank 29.7%. Figures for March were revised upwards to 1.276 million from 1.216 million.
2020-05-19
US Housing Starts Fall the Most Since 1984
Housing starts in the US plunged 22.3% month-over-month to an annualized rate of 1.216 million in March of 2020, the lowest since July of 2019 and below market expectations of 1.3 million. It was the biggest decline in housing starts since 1984 even as the impact of the coronavirus will be only fully visible in the April report. Starts for the volatile multi-family segment slumped 32.1% to 0.347 million while single-family housing which is the largest share of the housing market, went down 17.5% to 0.856 million. Declines in housing starts were seen in all regions: the South (-21.3% to 0.693 million), the West (-18.2% to 0.301 million), the Midwest (-21.5% to 0.153 million) and the Northeast (-42.5% to 0.069 million). Year-on-year, housing starts rose 1.4%.
2020-04-16
US Housing Starts Fall 1.5%
Housing starts in the US went down 1.5% month-over-month to an annualized rate of 1.599 million in February of 2020. It compares with market expectations of 1.5 million. Starts for the volatile multi-family segment slumped 17% to 0.508 million while single-family housing which is the largest share of the housing market, went up 6.7% to 1.072 million. Sales went down in the West (-18.2% to 374 thousand) and the Northeast (-41.4% to 126 thousand) but rose in the South (15.2% to 889 thousand) and the Midwest (16.7 percent to 210 thousand). Year-on-year, housing starts surged 39.2%. Data for January was revised higher to 1.624 million from an initial 1.567 million.
2020-03-18

United States Housing Starts
Housing Starts refer to the number of new residential construction projects that have begun during any particular month. Estimates of housing starts include units in structures being totally rebuilt on an existing foundation.