Global| Apr 19 2005Housing Starts Off Sharply
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Housing starts fell a sharp 17.6% from the record high the prior month which was revised slightly higher from the initial report. March starts of 1.837M were the lowest since November of last year.Consensus expectations had been for a [...]
Housing starts fell a sharp 17.6% from the record high the prior month which was revised slightly higher from the initial report. March starts of 1.837M were the lowest since November of last year.Consensus expectations had been for a lesser decline to 2.10M starts.
Single-family starts of 1.54M slid 14.4% m/m from the upwardly revised record high in February. Single family starts in the Northeast dropped 19.9% (-16.9% y/y) while single family starts in the Midwest reversed all of the prior month's jump with a 18.5% (-8.5% y/y) slump. Single family starts in the South fell 15.3% (-4.8% y/y) and starts in the West were off 7.8% (+0.2% y/y).
Multi family starts cratered by nearly a third to the lowest level since June of last year.
Building permits fell 4.0% but the decline the prior month was revised shallower.
| Housing Starts (000s, AR) | Mar | Feb | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1,837 | 2,229 | -8.2% | 1,952 | 1,853 | 1,7 10 |
| Single-family | 1,539 | 1,798 | -5.2% | 1,605 | 1,505 | 1,363 |
| Multi-family | 298 | 431 | -20.7% | 347 | 348 | 347 |
| Building Permits | 2,023 | 2,107 | 0.2% | 2,035 | 1,8 89 | 1,749 |
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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