Recent Updates
- US: Wholesale Trade (Feb), Producer Prices (Mar)
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Economy in Brief
U.S. Wholesale Inventories Post Strong February Gain; Sales Fall
Wholesale inventories increased 0.6% (2.0% y/y) during February...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Unexpectedly Increase
Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 744,000 during the week ended April 3...
Total PMIs Gain Traction in March
The PMI readings for March show improvement again...
U.S. Consumer Credit Outstanding Bounces Back in February
Consumer credit outstanding surged $27.6 billion during February...
U.S. Trade Deficit Widens to Record during February
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services widened to $71.1 during February...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller April 17, 2018
Total housing starts in March increased 1.9% to 1.319 million units (SAAR) following February's 3.3% decline to 1.295 million, revised from 1.236 million. A level of 1.260 million starts had been expected in the Action Economic Forecast Survey.
An increased number of multi-family starts accounted for last month's overall gain. They jumped 14.4% (23.8% y/y) to 452,000, the highest level since October 2016. Starts of single-family homes declined 3.7% last month (+5.2% y/y) to 867,000 from February's 900,000. It was the lowest level in three months.
Movement in starts last month varied around the country. Housing starts in the Midwest strengthened 22.4% last month (29.5% y/y) to 180,000 after a 1.4% February rise. In the Northeast,s starts notched 0.8% higher (13.8% y/y) to 132,000 after two months of strong increase. Starts in the West declined 1.5% (28.2% y/y) to 386,000 and reversed February's 1.8% gain. Starts in the South slipped 0.6% to 621,000 after a 9.9% decline.
Building permits increased 2.5% (7.5% y/y) to 1.395 million following a 4.1% February decline. Single-family permits declined 5.5% (+1.7% y/y) to 840,000 after a 1.4% increase in February. Permits to build multi-family homes jumped 19.0% (18.4% y/y) to 514,000, after falling 13.6%.
The housing starts and permits figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure is contained in the AS1REPNA database.
Housing Starts (000s, SAAR) | Mar | Feb | Jan | Mar Y/Y % | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 1,319 | 1,295 | 1,339 | 10.9 | 1,203 | 1,174 | 1,112 |
Single-Family | 867 | 900 | 899 | 5.2 | 849 | 782 | 715 |
Multi-Family | 452 | 395 | 440 | 23.8 | 354 | 392 | 397 |
Starts By Region | |||||||
Northeast | 132 | 131 | 115 | 13.8 | 112 | 116 | 138 |
Midwest | 180 | 147 | 145 | 29.5 | 179 | 182 | 153 |
South | 621 | 625 | 694 | -1.9 | 599 | 585 | 556 |
West | 386 | 392 | 385 | 28.2 | 313 | 291 | 265 |
Building Permits | 1,354 | 1,321 | 1,377 | 7.5 | 1,254 | 1,207 | 1,183 |