Global| Feb 16 2017U.S. Housing Starts Ease, But Permits Improve
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Housing starts during January declined 2.6% to 1.246 million (AR) from 1.279 million in December, revised from 1.226 million. Expectations had been for 1.215 million starts in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Starts of single- [...]
Housing starts during January declined 2.6% to 1.246 million (AR) from 1.279 million in December, revised from 1.226 million. Expectations had been for 1.215 million starts in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Starts of single-family units increased 1.9% to 823,000 following two months of decline. Starts of multi-family homes declined 10.2% to 423,000 following a 45.8% jump.
By region, housing starts in the South jumped 20.0% to 690,000, the highest level since August 2007. Starts in the Northeast strengthened 55.4% to 143,000, the highest level in three months. Starts in the Midwest declined 17.9% to 188,000, the lowest level since September, while starts in the West plummeted 41.3% to 225,000, the lowest level since March 2015.
Building permits increased 4.6% to 1.285 million from 1.228 million. The latest level was the highest since November 2015. Permits to build single-family homes declined 2.7% (+11.1% y/y) to 808,000. Permits to build multi-family units increased 19.8% (3.5% y/y) to 477,000.
The housing starts and permits figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure is contained in the AS1REPNA database.
The Homeownership Gap Is Finally Closing from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York can be found here.
| Housing Starts (000s, SAAR) | Jan | Dec | Nov | Jan Y/Y % | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1,246 | 1,279 | 1,149 | 10.5 | 1,176 | 1,108 | 1,001 |
| Single-Family | 823 | 808 | 826 | 6.2 | 784 | 713 | 648 |
| Multi-Family | 423 | 471 | 323 | 19.8 | 392 | 395 | 356 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 143 | 92 | 83 | -3.4 | 116 | 136 | 109 |
| Midwest | 188 | 229 | 214 | 21.3 | 182 | 151 | 159 |
| South | 690 | 575 | 583 | 19.2 | 584 | 556 | 497 |
| West | 225 | 383 | 269 | -8.5 | 291 | 265 | 236 |
| Building Permits | 1,285 | 1,228 | 1,212 | 8.2 | 1,171 | 1,178 | 1,053 |
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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