Housing starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.172 million in April, 2.6% below the revised March rate of 1.203 million but 5.7% above the April 2016 rate.
Housing activity increased in two out of the four regions as the Midwest and West saw housing starts increase 1.0% and 8.7%, respectively. The Northeast and South experienced declines of 10.3% and 7.4%, respectively.
New building permits decreased during the month, falling 2.5% to 1.230 million. However, permits were up 5.7% from the April 2016 rate.
Housing completions were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.106 million, down 8.6% from the revised March estimate and 15.1% above the April 2016 rate.
Read the Census release.