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April's Harsh Residential Construction Numbers Meet Expectations
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
The April residential construction numbers are, of
course, horrible. But they aren't out of line with expectations, and builders
did continue to plan for expansion and to build. The U.S. Census Bureau says that
construction permits fell 20.8 percent compared to March, and housing starts
were down 30.2 percent. Here are the gruesome details. The April decrease in permits put the seasonally
adjusted annual rate at 1,074,000 units, down 19.2 percent year-over-year. The
March estimate, which had represented a 6.8 percent decrease from February as
the COVID-19 shutdowns were starting to happen, was actually revised slightly
higher, from 1,353,000 to 1,356,000. Analysts has expected permits to be in the range of
750,00 to 1,150,000 units on an annual basis. The consensus of those polled by
Econoday was 1,033,000.
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