Global| Feb 19 2014U.S. Housing Starts Fall Sharply Amidst Winter Storms
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Housing starts in January declined 16.0% (-2.0% y/y) to 880,000 units (AR) from 1.048 million in December, revised up from 999,000. The latest level fell short of expectations for 950,000 starts in the Action Economics survey. Starts [...]
Housing starts in January declined 16.0% (-2.0% y/y) to 880,000 units (AR) from 1.048 million in December, revised up from 999,000. The latest level fell short of expectations for 950,000 starts in the Action Economics survey. Starts of single-family homes plunged 15.9% (-6.7% y/y) to 573,000 and added to a 4.5% drop at yearend. Starts of multi-family homes declined 16.3% (+8.1% y/y) to 307,000 following a 5.4% December shortfall.
By region, starts in the Midwest took the greatest hit and fell by two-thirds (-47.4% y/y). Starts in the West were off 17.4% (+1.7% y/y) while starts in the South fell 12.5% (-5.4% y/y). In the Northeast, starts turned in a 61.9% gain +56.3% y/y) reflecting a 150% rise (123.7% y/y) in multi-family units.
Building permits fell 5.4% (+2.4% y/y) to 937,000 units. It was the third consecutive monthly decline. Permits to build single-family homes declined 1.3% (+2.4% y/y) after a 4.8% December drop. Permits to build multi-family homes fell 12.1% (+2.4% y/y) after a 1.3% rise.
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) | Jan | Dec | Nov | Jan Y/Y% | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 880 | 1,048 | 1,101 | -2.0 | 931 | 783 | 612 |
| Single-Family | 573 | 681 | 713 | 6.7 | 622 | 537 | 434 |
| Multi-Family | 307 | 367 | 388 | 8.1 | 309 | 247 | 178 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 136 | 84 | 94 | 56.3 | 96 | 80 | 68 |
| Midwest | 50 | 155 | 212 | -47.4 | 149 | 128 | 103 |
| South | 457 | 522 | 567 | -5.4 | 468 | 400 | 309 |
| West | 237 | 287 | 228 | 1.7 | 218 | 175 | 132 |
| Building Permits | 937 | 991 | 1,017 | 2.4 | 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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