HAMILTON, NJ – Total housing starts in April decreased 2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $ 853.5 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Single-family construction saw a significant decline after months of heavy activity, while both non-residential construction and non-residential construction starts increased.
"The retreat from the start of single-family home construction was inevitable after showing exceptional strength over the past year," said Richard Branch, chief economist at Dodge Data & Analytics. “Higher material prices, supply shortages and a shortage of skilled construction workers have had to keep pace with residential construction and will ultimately limit the ability of this sector to show the same rate of expansion this year as it was last year. In the meantime, homeless starts are stabilizing and should continue to recover over the course of 2021. However, this sector is also being challenged by similar issues in the real estate market that will cause its launches to be below pre-pandemic levels in the coming months. "
Below is the full breakdown of non-building, non-residential, and residential:
Non-building construction begins rose 2% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $ 189.5 billion. The utility and gas category increased 5%, while environmental public works and highways and bridges increased 2% and 1%, respectively. The category of other non-buildings fell by 3% in April. Since the start of the year, total non-construction starts were 6% higher than in the first four months of 2020. Starts in the environmental public works category were 37% higher, while various non-construction starts increased by 25% and utility and gas trials increased by 25 % increased plant starts were 3% higher. Motorway and bridge starts decreased by 11%.
In the twelve months to April 2021, total housing starts without construction were 9% lower than in the 12 months to April 2020. Housing starts for public environmental works increased by 14%, while housing starts for highways and bridges increased by 1%. Utility and gas facility starts decreased 34% in the twelve months ended April 2021, and the various non-construction starts decreased 15%.
The largest non-construction projects that will lay the foundation in April were the $ 625 million Atkina Solar Power in Wharton County, TX, the $ 530 million New York Energy Solution Transmission Project in Claverack, New York, and the $ 357 million North City Pure Water Facility in San Diego, California.
The construction of non-residential buildings begins rose 16% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $ 276.3 billion. Institutional starts rose 19% due to educational, transportation and recreational buildings, while commercial starts rose 12% due to increases in the office and warehouse categories. Production starts also picked up in April, increasing by 25%. Year-to-date non-residential home starts were 17% lower than in the first four months of 2020. Commercial starts fell 20% while institutional starts fell 18%. In the first four months of 2021, production starts increased by 13%.
In the 12 months to April 2021, non-residential home starts were 26% lower than in the 12 months to April 2020. Commercial starts decreased by 27% while institutional starts decreased by 18%. Production starts decreased by 53% in the twelve months to April 2021.
The largest non-residential construction projects are slated to break the ground in April It was a $ 1.2 billion conversion of a warehouse into an office project in New York, NY, the $ 530 million Mickey Leland International Terminal in Houston, TX, and a $ 325 million Amazon office project in Bellevue , WA.
Residential building begins fell 12% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $ 387.8 billion. Single-family beginnings decreased by 18%, multi-family beginnings by 5%. Total housing starts have been 24% higher since the beginning of the year. Single family starts rose by 31%, multi-family starts by 6%.
In the 12 months to April 2021, the total number of new homes was 12% higher than in the 12 months to April 2020. The number of single-family homes rose by 20%, while the number of multi-family homes fell by 8% on a 12-month basis.
The largest apartment buildings that laid the foundation stone in April were the $ 232 million Travis Residential Tower 1 in Austin, TX, the $ 173 million mixed-use project at 241 W 28th St in New York, NY, and the $ 165 million Union Square Tower in Somerville, MA .
Regional, April starts rose in the Northeast and Midwest, but fell in the West, South-Central and South Atlantic regions.
