Global| Mar 19 2013U.S. Housing Starts & Building Permits Recover
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Last month saw a firming in home building activity. Total housing starts ticked up 0.8% (27.7% y/y) to 917,000 (AR) following a decline to 910,000 during January, initially reported as 890,000. The latest figure roughly matched the [...]
Last month saw a firming in home building activity. Total housing starts ticked up 0.8% (27.7% y/y) to 917,000 (AR) following a decline to 910,000 during January, initially reported as 890,000. The latest figure roughly matched the median estimate of 916,000 in the Action Economics survey of economists. It was close to the highest level since July 2008. Starts of single-family homes gained 0.5% (31.5% y/y) in February to 618,000 and made up the prior month's decline. Starts in the multi-family sector rose 1.4% (20.6% y/y) to 299,000.
The near-term future for housing activity also looks solid. Building permits rose 4.6% (33.8% y/y) to 946,000 last month. It was the highest level since June 2008. Permits to build single-family homes rose 2.7% (25.5% y/y) while permits to build multi-family units rose 8.1% (51.1% y/y).
By region, starts in the Midwest recovered by roughly one-third both m/m and y/y. Multi-family starts regained their footing after January's sharp drop but single-family starts in the Midwest fell moderately (+5.7% y/y) for the second month. Starts in the Northeast also recovered 18.4% (56.1% y/y) as single-family starts rose 20.4% (18.0% y/y) and multi-family starts gained 15.8% (175.0% y/y). In the South, total starts fell 5.7% (+10.5% y/y) due to a decline in multi-family. In the West, starts fell 7.2% but were up by two-thirds from last year.
The housing starts figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure is contained in the AS1REPNA database.
The Region's Job Rebound from Superstorm Sandy from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York can be found here.
| Housing Starts (000s, SAAR) | Feb | Jan | Dec | Y/Y% | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 917 | 910 | 982 | 27.7 | 781 | 612 | 586 | |
| Single-Family | 618 | 615 | 617 | 31.5 | 534 | 434 | 471 | |
| Multi-Family | 299 | 295 | 365 | 20.6 | 247 | 178 | 114 | |
| Starts By Region | ||||||||
| Northeast | 103 | 87 | 116 | 56.1 | 78 | 68 | 72 | |
| Midwest | 132 | 96 | 187 | 33.3 | 129 | 103 | 97 | |
| South | 463 | 491 | 465 | 10.5 | 400 | 309 | 296 | |
| West | 219 | 236 | 214 | 63.4 | 173 | 132 | 120 | |
| Building Permits | 946 | 904 | 909 | 33.8 | 800 | 624 | 604 | |
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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