Housing Starts are Down, but Completions are Up

Housing starts were down in January, according to this week’s U.S. Census Bureau report. January starts were a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,366,000, which is a 9.8% decrease from the revised December estimate of 1,515,000 and a 0.7% decrease from the January 2024 rate of 1,376,000. Single-family housing starts were at a rate of 993,000, representing an 8.4% decline from the revised December figure of 1,084,000.

In contrast, housing completions in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,651,000, which is a 7.6% increase from the revised December estimate of 1,534,000 and a 9.8% increase from the January 2024 rate of 1,504,000. Single-family housing completions were at a rate of 982,000, a 7.1% rise from the revised December rate of 917,000.

Overall, the residential construction data for January 2025 indicates a slowdown in new housing starts, while housing completions are on the rise.