United States housing brief, March 2020

Delton Alderman

Treesearch

United States housing brief, March 2020

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Delton Alderman

Year:

2020

Type:

Research Note

Station:

Forest Products Laboratory

Source:

Res. Note FPL-RN-0380. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. 1-8.

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Download (PDF 1.74 MB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/60572.pdf

Abstract

In March, an overwhelming majority of month-over-month categories were negative. Total, single-, and multifamily starts all recorded double-digit declines. On a year-over-year basis, half the categories indicated improvement, whereas housing completions was the only subsector reporting declines for all components: total, single-family, and multifamily. New single-family and existing house sales decreased, month-over-month and year-over-year. Single-family construction expenditures improved year-over-year and decreased month-over-month. The effects of COVID-19 may not be fully reflected in the March data; the full magnitude of the virus might be revealed in the April and May housing construction data.

Keywords

Housing permits, starts, under construction, completions, construction spending, new sales, existing sales, regional housing data, economic indicators

Citation

Alderman, Delton. 2020. United States housing brief, March 2020. Res. Note FPL-RN-0380. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. 1-8.