NAHB: Housing starts fall 12.8% in April

WASHINGTON – Housing starts on single-family homes rose in April by 2.8 percent, to a 368,000-unit annual rate, but overall housing starts fell 12.8 percent, according to data collected by the National Association of Home Builders.
Multi-family housing starts were down 46 percent, dropping to a 90,000-unit annual rate.
“A severe credit crunch for acquisition, development and construction financing, and a lack of investor interest in Low Income Housing Tax Credits are the main factors that are keeping apartment builders from moving ahead with new projects, along with the competition from excess inventory that’s on the market,” NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe said in a statement. “Ultimately, the logjam in builder financing must be broken in order for housing construction to provide the boost that the national economy needs to get back on track.”
In the Northeast, April housing starts were down 30.6 percent from the prior month, according to NAHB.
The National Association of Home Builders, a trade group founded in 1942, produces in-depth economic analyses of the home building industry based on private and government data. To learn more, visit www.nahb.org.