US building permits fall as housing starts show tepid growth

(Sharecast News) - Building permits in the United States fell more than expected in April to their lowest level in nearly a year, according to data out on Friday from the Census Bureau, while housing starts showed only a small increase after plunging the previous month. Building permits, a closely watched indicator of future construction activity, fell to 1.41m last month, down 4.7% from the 1.48m reported in March and 3.2% below the same month in 2024.

This was the lowest seasonally adjusted annual rate since May 2024 and came in under the consensus forecast of 1.45m.

According to the Census Bureau, permits for single-family homes fell 5.1% over the month to 922,000, while authorisations of buildings with five units or more were 4.4% lower at 431,000.

It is thought that higher mortgage rates held back applications for permits, along with costlier building materials due to April's introduction of import tariffs.

Housing starts, meanwhile, rose 1.6% over the month of April to 1.36m, following a 10.1% drop in March. However, that was still 1.7% below last year's levels and under analysts' estimates of 1.37m.