This chart shows privately owned housing starts in the United States from January 1959, when they stood at 1.66 million, through March 2017, when they totaled 1.22 million. The shaded areas indicate recessions.
They stood at their lowest rate during those years in April 2009, when they totaled 478,000.
Housing starts in March 2017 were 6.8 percent below the revised February estimate of 1.3 million, but 9.2 percent above the March 2016 rate of 1.11 million.