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US new home starts down 22% in March amid coronavirus outbreak

According to a report from the US Housing and Urban Development and Commerce Department, reflecting the growing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, total US housing starts decreased 22.3% in March 2020 from a downwardly revised February reading to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.22m units. Meanwhile, overall permits declined 6.8% to 1.35m.The March reading of 1.22m starts is the number of housing units builders would begin if they kept this pace for the next 12 months. Within this overall number, single-family starts decreased 17.5% to an 856,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate. The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, decreased 31.7% to a 360,000 pace.

“Housing has been deemed an essential business in most of the nation and in the few states where the governors have not acted, we urge them to deem construction as essential,” said Dean Mon, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. “Housing can help lead an eventual rebound, as it has done in previous recessions.”

However, Mon added: “We expect further declines in housing starts in April, due to the unprecedented decline in builder confidence in our latest member survey.”

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