**MNI 5 THINGS: US Starts, Permits Fall In April>

--5 Things We Learned From April New Residential Construction Data

By Kevin Kastner

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the April 

new residential construction data released Wednesday by the Commerce 

Department: 

     - April housing starts fell by 3.7% to a 1.287 million annual rate, 

below the 1.313 million pace expected and following an upward revision 

to 1.336 million for the March data and a slight downward adjustment to 

the February pace to 1.290 million. As a result, the April starts pace 

of 1.290 million is down from the 1.320 million average rate in the 

first quarter. Annual revisions were included in the data. 

     - Permits posted a 1.8% decline to a still-strong 1.352 million 

rate, very close to the 1.350 million rate expected, while those 

permitted but not started rose by 1.9%. The recent levels of permits 

suggest that this category, as well as starts eventually, should see 

gains in the coming months. The NAHB index posted a modest gain in April 

after falling in the previous four months. 

     - Single-family housing starts rose 0.1% in April, so the headline 

decline was led by an 11.3% drop in multi-family starts. Single-family 

building permits were up 0.9%, while multi-family permits were down 

6.3%. 

     - Starts fell in the Northeast (-8.1%), Midwest (+16.3%), and West 

(-12.0%) regions, but rose solidly in the South (+6.4%) to provide some 

offset.

     - Homes under construction were flat in April, while completions 

rose by 2.8% to 1.257 million. With the strong starts readings in the 

first quarter, these categories should move higher in the coming months. 

     ** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 ** 

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