Global| Apr 16 2015U.S. Housing Starts Post Disappointing Rebound from Winter Low
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Housing starts during March improved 2.0% to 926,000 units (-3.5% y/y). The gain followed declines during the prior two months totaling 16.0%. February's level of starts was revised to 908,000 from 897,000. Last month's improvement [...]
Housing starts during March improved 2.0% to 926,000 units (-3.5% y/y). The gain followed declines during the prior two months totaling 16.0%. February's level of starts was revised to 908,000 from 897,000. Last month's improvement disappointed expectations for 1.040 million starts in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Single-family starts rebounded 4.4% m/m to 618,00 (-3.8% y/y) after two months of decline totaling 18.3%. The gain was accompanied by a 2.5% drop in multi-family starts to 308,000 (-2.7% y/y) following two months of decline totaling 11.2%.
Starts in the Northeast rebounded by more than half m/m to 101,000 units (-19.8% y/y). In the Midwest, starts recovered by roughly one-third to 126,000 (-13.0% y/y) and mostly offset February's decline. Starts in the West declined 19.3% (-3.4% y/y) to 201,000, the lowest level since April. The Southern region realized a 3.5% drop (+3.1% y/y) to 498,000.
Building permits declined 5.7% last month to 1.039 million (+7.6% y/y) from 1.102 million. Single-family permits improved 2.1% to 636,000 (9.4% y/y) but multi-family permits declined 15.9% to 403,000 (+4.6% y/y).
The housing starts figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure is contained in the AS1REPNA database.
The Fed's latest Beige Book covering regional economic conditions is available here.
| Housing Starts (000s, SAAR) | Mar | Feb | Jan | Mar Y/Y % | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 926 | 908 | 1,072 | -3.5 | 1,001 | 930 | 784 |
| Single-Family | 618 | 592 | 698 | -3.8 | 646 | 621 | 537 |
| Multi-Family | 308 | 316 | 374 | -2.7 | 355 | 309 | 247 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 101 | 47 | 109 | -19.8 | 110 | 97 | 80 |
| Midwest | 126 | 96 | 144 | -13.0 | 160 | 149 | 129 |
| South | 498 | 516 | 527 | 3.1 | 496 | 467 | 400 |
| West | 201 | 249 | 292 | -3.4 | 236 | 217 | 175 |
| Building Permits | 1,039 | 1,102 | 1,060 | 7.6 | 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.
More Economy in Brief
