Global| Jan 19 2006Housing Starts Fell To Lowest Level Since March
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Housing starts slumped 8.0% m/m last month to 1.933M units following a little revised 3.4% increase in November. The decline was to the lowest level since March but did not prevent starts for all of 2005 from rising 6.0% to a record [...]
Housing starts slumped 8.0% m/m last month to 1.933M units following a little revised 3.4% increase in November. The decline was to the lowest level since March but did not prevent starts for all of 2005 from rising 6.0% to a record 2.066M. Consensus expectations had been for a lesser decline in December to 2.05M starts.
Single-family starts plummeted 12.3% m/m to 1.577M from the near record November level. The gain was most pronounced in the West where starts fell 21.7% (-17.1% y/y) and in the Midwest where single family starts dropped 22.6% (-23.8% y/y). In the Northeast single family starts fell for the fifth month in the last six, down 4.5% (-9.3% y/y) and in the South starts fell 4.2% (+4.3% y/y).
Multi family starts rose 10.2% m/m following a downwardly revised gain during November. Building permits fell 4.4% to the lowest level since May.
The latest Beige Book covering regional economic conditions in the US from the Federal Reserve Board can be found here.
| Housing Starts (000s, AR) | Dec | Nov | Y/Y | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1,933 | 2,121 | -5.7% | 2,066 | 1,950 | 1,854 |
| Single-family | 1,577 | 1,798 | -7.9% | 1,713 | 1,604 | 1,505 |
| Multi-family | 356 | 323 | 5.6% | 353 | 345 | 349 |
| Building Permits | 2,068 | 2,163 | -0.6% | 2,121 | 2,058 | 1,8 88 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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