Baird says US April housing starts and permits exceed expectations on multi-family strength

U.S. housing starts and permits for April surprised to the upside, driven by a sharp rise in multi-family construction. Starts reached 1.465 million SAAR (vs. 1.41M consensus), while permits hit 1.442M SAAR (vs. 1.38M consensus). Multi-family starts and permits posted double-digit gains, with particularly strong activity in the West, while single-family metrics slipped. Baird said the data supports residential demand and continues to favor residential stocks with secular growth and market-share gains, but flagged sustainability risks from higher rates and inflation into H2. Market impact: the beat should support construction and homebuilder-related equities and offer a moderate positive impulse to the S&P 500, though upside may be capped by macro headwinds (rates/inflation).