Global| Mar 16 2018U.S. Housing Starts and Building Permits Weaken
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Total housing starts in February declined 7.0% (-4.0% y/y) to 1.236 million (AR) from 1.329 million in January, revised from 1.326 million. A level of 1.290 million starts had been expected in the Action Economic Forecast Survey. [...]
Total housing starts in February declined 7.0% (-4.0% y/y) to 1.236 million (AR) from 1.329 million in January, revised from 1.326 million. A level of 1.290 million starts had been expected in the Action Economic Forecast Survey.
Starts of single-family homes increased 2.9% (2.9% y/y) to 902,000, the highest level in three months, from 877,000. Multi-family starts fell by 26.1% (-18.7% y/y) to 334,000 and reversed the January increase.
Movement in starts last month varied around the country. Housing starts in the West declined 12.9% to 339,000 following a 9.6% rise. Starts in the South fell 7.3% to 633,000 after a 15.0% increase. Starts in the Northeast eased 3.5% to 109,000 following a 28.4% jump. In the Midwest, starts increased 7.6% to 155,000, but remained down 30.2% from the December 2016 high..
Building permits declined 5.7% (+6.5% y/y) to 1.298 million and reversed January's gain. Single-family permits eased 0.6% (+4.6% y/y) to 872,000 after a similar decline in January. Permits to build multi-family homes dropped 14.8% (+10.6% y/y) to 426,000, after rising 19.3%.
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) | Feb | Jan | Dec | Feb Y/Y % | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1,236 | 1,329 | 1,207 | -4.0 | 1,203 | 1,174 | 1,112 |
| Single-Family | 902 | 877 | 847 | 2.9 | 849 | 782 | 715 |
| Multi-Family | 334 | 452 | 360 | -18.7 | 354 | 392 | 397 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 109 | 113 | 88 | -1.8 | 112 | 116 | 138 |
| Midwest | 155 | 144 | 170 | -14.8 | 179 | 182 | 153 |
| South | 633 | 683 | 594 | -3.8 | 599 | 585 | 556 |
| West | 339 | 389 | 355 | 0.6 | 313 | 291 | 265 |
| Building Permits | 1,298 | 1,377 | 1,300 | 6.5 | 1,254 | 1,207 | 1,183 |
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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