Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,352,000. This is 1.8 percent below the revised March rate of 1,377,000, but is 7.7 percent above the April 2017 rate of 1,255,000. Single-family authorizations in April were at a rate of 859,000; this is 0.9 percent above the revised March figure of 851,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 450,000 in April.

Privately-owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,287,000. This is 3.7 percent below the revised March estimate of 1,336,000, but is 10.5 percent above the April 2017 rate of 1,165,000. Single-family housing starts in April were at a rate of 894,000; this is 0.1 percent above the revised March figure of 893,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 374,000.