• April housing starts totaled 1.569 million (SAAR), down 9.5% from March but up 67.3% from April 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
• There were 1.76 million housing permits issued nationwide in April (SAAR), up 0.3% from March and 60.9% from a year ago.
• 1.449 million homes were completed in April (SAAR), down 4.4% from March but up 21.7% from last year.

Despite some uncertainty brought about by rapidly rising materials prices, homebuilders continue to put up homes at a strong rate. Global supply shortages are helping push the price of a number homebuilding materials upward, with the Producer Price Index of inputs to residential construction rising almost 20% in the past year and the price of lumber itself some five times higher than it was last year. Theoretically, the skyrocketing prices pose a threat to the otherwise positive momentum that homebuilders and the residential construction industry has been steadily building since this time last year. Some builders are reporting changed practices in response to the challenges, including limiting the sales of custom homes and capping volume so as to not burn through their existing inventory of materials. And in an environment where starting construction on a home might be the most difficult step in the process, the share of homes authorized but not yet started surged to the highest level recorded since data collection began in 1999 — a sign that builders are waiting for some sales certainty before committing to put hammer to nail. But despite these rising risks, building activity remains strong as builders continue to see a golden opportunity to help address the shortage of for-sale homes in a hotly competitive market. And with demand for homes still so elevated, it’s unlikely that builders will take a pessimistic turn anytime soon. What’s more, recent hints that lumber prices may finally be falling could lead some to ramp up activity further and push already-strong construction levels to new post-pandemic highs.