Global| Feb 18 2015U.S. Housing Starts Decline As Single-Family Starts Ease
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Housing starts during January edged 2.0% lower to 1.065 million from 1.087 million in December, revised from 1.089 million. Still, starts remained near the highest level in roughly seven years. Earlier figures were revised slightly [...]
Housing starts during January edged 2.0% lower to 1.065 million from 1.087 million in December, revised from 1.089 million. Still, starts remained near the highest level in roughly seven years. Earlier figures were revised slightly and the latest number roughly matched expectations for 1.067 million starts in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Single-family starts fell 6.7% to 678,000 (+16.3 y/y) versus the cycle-high of 727,000 reached in December. The decline was countered by a 7.5% increase in multi-family starts to 387,000 (23.2 y/y).
Housing starts in the Midwest declined 22.2% (+125.8% y/y) to 140,000. Starts in Northeast followed with a 3.5% decline (-4.3% y/y) to 111,000. Starts in the West were off 3.4% to 286,000 (+21.7% y/y) but starts in the South gained 6.5% (9.1% y/y) to 528,000.
Building permits edged 0.7% lower (+8.1 y/y) to 1.053 million from 1.060 million. Single-family permits declined 3.1% (+5.8% y/y) to 654,000 but multi-family permits rose 3.6% (12.1 y/y) to 399,000.
The housing starts figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure is contained in the AS1REPNA database.
The minutes of the latest FOMC meeting can be found here.
| Housing Starts (000s, SAAR) | Jan | Dec | Nov | Jan Y/Y % | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1,065 | 1,087 | 1,015 | 18.7 | 1,001 | 930 | 784 |
| Single-Family | 678 | 727 | 674 | 16.3 | 646 | 621 | 537 |
| Multi-Family | 387 | 360 | 341 | 23.2 | 355 | 309 | 247 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 111 | 115 | 110 | -4.3 | 110 | 97 | 80 |
| Midwest | 140 | 180 | 175 | 125.8 | 160 | 149 | 129 |
| South | 528 | 496 | 454 | 9.1 | 496 | 467 | 400 |
| West | 286 | 296 | 276 | 21.7 | 236 | 217 | 175 |
| Building Permits | 1,053 | 1,060 | 1,060 | 8.1 | 1,033 | 990 | 829 |
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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