Low mortgage interest rates contributed to a housing production rebound in March. Overall housing starts increased 19.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.74 million units, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. It marks the fastest pace for combined single-family and multifamily construction since June 2006.

Single-family starts increased 15.3% to a 1.24 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. Compared to the first quarter of 2020, single-family starts are up 19.6%. The multifamily sector increased 30.8% to a 501,000 pace.

“Builder confidence remains strong, pointing to gains for single-family construction in 2021,” says National Association of Home Builders Chairman Chuck Fowke in a release. “However, rising costs for most kinds of building materials continue to impede positive additional momentum in the market.”

On a regional basis compared to the previous month, combined single-family and multifamily starts are 64% higher in the Northeast, 122.8% higher in the Midwest (likely due to weather), 13.5% higher in the South and 13.6% lower in the West.