Housing starts under Jimmy Carter

How many new homes broke ground, at an annual rate.

Over 1977-01-20 to 1981-01-19, measured in Thousands of Units:

Term average

1,745.4 Thousands of Units

At the start

1,966 Thousands of Units

At the end

1,513 Thousands of Units

Change

-453 Thousands of Units

Low

927 Thousands of Units (1980-05-01)

High

2,197 Thousands of Units (1978-04-01)

Coverage

100% (48 observations)

Reading this series over a presidential term

Very volatile month to month, with wide error margins on any single print, so an average level over a term is steadier than a start-to-end comparison. It responds quickly to mortgage rates, which are set well outside the White House.

Starts are not completions, and they are not affordability: a record year of starts can coincide with rising prices. It counts units, so a 200-unit apartment building and 200 houses look the same.

These are the observed values over the window above, and nothing more. This site does not say which direction is better, and none of this is a claim that Jimmy Carter caused the number to move.

What Housing starts measures · Jimmy Carter: the whole record · Chart it · Compare with another president · The source at FRED