Global| Apr 16 2014U.S. Housing Starts Exhibit Disappointing Rebound
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Housing starts in March gained 2.8% to 946,000 units (AR) from 920,000 in February, revised up from 907,000. The latest figure fell short of expectations for 970,000 starts in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Starts of single- [...]
Housing starts in March gained 2.8% to 946,000 units (AR) from 920,000 in February, revised up from 907,000. The latest figure fell short of expectations for 970,000 starts in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Starts of single-family homes increased 6.0% m/m to 635,000 (1.9% y/y), the highest level since December. Starts of multi-family homes, however, fell 3.1% (-18.6% y/y) to 311,000, the lowest level since October.
By region, starts in the Midwest gained roughly three-quarters (2.9% y/y) to 144,000 while in the Northeast, starts rebounded 30.7% (22.3% y/y) to 115,000. To the downside, starts in the South fell 9.1% (-13.9% y/y) to 477,000 and starts in the West fell 4.5% (-3.2% y/y) to 210,000.
Also weak were building permits which fell 2.4% (+11.2% y/y). Permits to build single-family homes ticked 0.5% higher (-1.2% y/y) but permits to build multi-family homes declined 6.4% (+26.8% 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) | Mar | Feb | Jan | Mar Y/Y % | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 946 | 920 | 903 | -5.9 | 929 | 783 | 612 |
| Single-Family | 635 | 599 | 582 | 1.9 | 621 | 537 | 434 |
| Multi-Family | 311 | 321 | 321 | -18.6 | 308 | 247 | 178 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 115 | 88 | 117 | 22.3 | 96 | 80 | 68 |
| Midwest | 144 | 87 | 62 | 2.9 | 149 | 128 | 103 |
| South | 477 | 525 | 488 | -13.0 | 467 | 400 | 309 |
| West | 210 | 220 | 236 | -3.2 | 217 | 175 | 132 |
| Building Permits | 990 | 1,014 | 945 | 11.2 | 964 | 829 | 624 |
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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