Global| Jun 19 2012U.S. Housing Starts Decline Unexpectedly In May But Trend Improves
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Last month, housing starts fell 4.8% to 708,000. The figure disappointed expectations for 725,000 starts. However, the picture for home building activity may have nevertheless brightened. The April level of starts was revised up to [...]
Last month, housing starts fell 4.8% to 708,000. The figure disappointed expectations for 725,000 starts. However, the picture for home building activity may have nevertheless brightened. The April level of starts was revised up to 744,000 from 717,000 and the Q2 average so far of 726,000 was 1.5% higher than Q1 and the highest level of the economic recovery.
Starts of single-family homes rose 3.2% (26.2% y/y) to 516,000 from an upwardly revised 500,000. Starts of multi-family homes fell by nearly one quarter month-to-month but were up one-third y/y. The performance amongst regions was mixed with only the West showing a m/m improvement
Building permits jumped 7.9% (25.0% y/y) to the highest level of the recovery. Single-family permits rose 4.0% (19.9% y/y) while multi-family permits increased 15.3% (34.9% y/y).
The housing starts figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure is contained in the AS1REPNA database.
| Housing Starts (000s, SAAR) | May | Apr | Mar | Y/Y % | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 708 | 744 | 706 | 28.5 | 612 | 586 | 554 |
| Single-Family | 516 | 500 | 481 | 26.2 | 434 | 471 | 442 |
| Multi-Family | 192 | 244 | 225 | 35.2 | 178 | 114 | 112 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 63 | 79 | 87 | 10.5 | 68 | 72 | 61 |
| Midwest | 111 | 128 | 116 | 11.0 | 103 | 97 | 95 |
| South | 367 | 391 | 354 | 39.5 | 309 | 296 | 281 |
| West | 167 | 146 | 149 | 27.5 | 131 | 120 | 117 |
| Building Permits | 780 | 723 | 769 | 25.0 | 624 | 604 | 582 |
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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