A reported increase in construction activity
A February 2020 Boston City Properties brief discussed a U.S. Commerce Department report released on January 17. It described December 2019 housing construction running at an annualized pace of approximately 1.61 million units, up 16.9 percent from the prior month.
An annualized monthly pace is not the number of homes completed during that month or year. The distinction matters when using a headline about construction activity to understand actual additions to housing supply.
National figures and local demand
The brief placed the increase alongside employment conditions, mortgage rates and demand for housing at the time. It connected the national story with concern about housing supply in Greater Boston, but did not provide a Boston-specific construction total.
The original annual comparisons used ambiguous wording about units “built.” Those comparisons are not presented here as verified completion counts. The report remains a historical account of construction activity before the pandemic, not a forecast of today’s supply or financing conditions.
Historical attribution: Original Boston City Properties article, February 2020. Reported claims and attributed assessments have not been independently refreshed.