In a market that’s facing a shortage of housing inventory, the monthly housing starts data, which will be released by the Census Bureau [1] and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development [2] (HUD) on Wednesday, May 16, at 8:30 a.m. EST, becomes all the more important to gauge housing trends and availability of homes for sale.
The report provides national and regional data on the number of new housing units authorized by building permits; authorized but not started, started but not under construction, under construction, and completed homes.
In March, the previous report indicated, housing starts were up 1.9 percent over the previous month and were 10.9 percent above the same period in 2017. However, for single-family homes, starts were down 3.7 percent from February at 867,000. The data which also looks at housing completions showed that single-family homes were 4.7 percent below the prior month at 840,000 and were 5.1 percent below February overall at around 1.2 million completions.
Here’s what else is in store for The Week Ahead:
- Redbook Release, Tuesday, 8.55 a.m. EST
- Housing Market Index, Tuesday, 10 a.m. EST
- MBA Mortgage Apps, Wednesday 7 a.m. EST
- Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, Thursday, 8:30 a.m. EST
- Fed Balance Sheet, Thursday, 4:30 p.m. EST