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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 |