The preliminary totals for 2015 housing starts and permits are available, and they show an increase in home building for 2015.
Last year saw a total of 1.11 million housing starts, 715,300 single-family starts, and 396,000 multifamily starts, each one up 10.8 percent, 10.4 percent, and 11.4 percent respectively when compared with 2014.
Although housing permits for both single-family and multifamily construction rose in 2015, the number of unused permits also rose 4.9 percent, according to the NAHB's Eye on Housing. In response to an NAHB survey, more than three-quarters of builders said that labor availability was their greatest concern entering 2016.
