Global| May 16 2012U.S. Housing Starts Rebound
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The rebound was modest, but at least it stemmed two months of decline. Housing starts in April rose 2.6% to 717,000 following a 2.6% decline during March, revised from 5.8% reported last month. Starts also slipped 0.3% in February. [...]
The rebound was modest, but at least it stemmed two months of decline.
Housing starts in April rose 2.6% to 717,000 following a 2.6% decline
during March, revised from 5.8% reported last month. Starts also slipped
0.3% in February. Figures back to 2010 were revised. Expectations had been
for 679,000 starts.
Starts of single-family homes rose 2.3% (18.8% y/y) to 492,000. That repeated the March advance which was revised higher from the initial report. Starts of multi-family homes also recovered 3.2% (63.0% y/y) after a 12.1% March decline. The performance amongst regions was mixed. Starts in the Midwest rose 6.7% (32.3% y/y) and starts in the South increased 11.6% (38.5% y/y). To the downside, starts in the Northeast fell 20.7% (+19.0% y/y) while starts in the West were off 8.1% (+13.3% y/y).
Building permits fell 7.0% (+23.7% y/y) to 715,000 following an 8.8% March rise that was double the initial report. Single-family permits rose 1.9% (18.5% y/y) to 475,000. Multi-family permits reversed the March gain and fell 20.8% (+35.6% y/y) to 240,000.
The housing starts figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure is contained in the AS1REPNA database.
Prescriptions for Housing Recovery is yesterday's speech by Fed Governor Elizabeth A. Duke and it can be found here.
| Housing Starts (000s, SAAR) | Apr | Mar | Feb | Y/Y % | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 717 | 699 | 718 | 29.9 | 612 | 586 | 554 |
| Single-Family | 492 | 481 | 470 | 18.8 | 434 | 471 | 442 |
| Multi-Family | 225 | 218 | 248 | 63.0 | 178 | 114 | 112 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 69 | 87 | 66 | 19.0 | 68 | 72 | 61 |
| Midwest | 127 | 119 | 99 | 32.3 | 103 | 97 | 95 |
| South | 385 | 345 | 419 | 38.5 | 309 | 296 | 281 |
| West | 136 | 148 | 134 | 13.3 | 131 | 120 | 117 |
| Building Permits | 715 | 769 | 707 | 23.7 | 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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