Global| Mar 18 2014U.S. Housing Starts Remain Fairly Stable
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Housing starts in February slipped 0.2% to 907,000 units (-6.4% y/y) from 909,000 during January, revised up from 880,000. The latest level nearly matched expectations for 910,000 starts in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Starts [...]
Housing starts in February slipped 0.2% to 907,000 units (-6.4% y/y) from 909,000 during January, revised up from 880,000. The latest level nearly matched expectations for 910,000 starts in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Starts of single-family homes held roughly steady m/m at 583,000 (-10.6% y/y) following a 13.2% January drop. Starts of multi-family homes fell 1.2% (+2.2% y/y) to 324,000. It was the third consecutive monthly decline.
By region, starts in the Northeast fell by more than one-third m/m (-29.2% y/y) and starts in the West were off 5.5% (+0.9% y/y). To the upside, starts in the Midwest rebounded by more than one-third m/m (-42.2% y/y) yet fell nearly two-thirds during the last three months. Starts in the South recovered 7.3% (4.8% y/y).
Building permits improved 7.7% (6.9% y/y) to 1,018 units. The gain reversed declines during the last two months. Permits to build single-family homes declined 1.8% (-2.0% y/y), down for the third consecutive month. Permits to build multi-family homes jumped 24.3% (22.2% y/y) after a 9.2% decline.
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) | Feb | Jan | Dec | Feb Y/Y% | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 907 | 909 | 1,024 | -6.4 | 929 | 783 | 612 |
| Single-Family | 583 | 581 | 689 | -10.6 | 621 | 537 | 434 |
| Multi-Family | 324 | 328 | 333 | 2.2 | 308 | 247 | 178 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 75 | 120 | 82 | -29.2 | 96 | 80 | 68 |
| Midwest | 78 | 58 | 153 | -42.2 | 149 | 128 | 103 |
| South | 529 | 493 | 512 | 4.8 | 467 | 400 | 309 |
| West | 225 | 238 | 277 | 0.9 | 217 | 175 | 132 |
| Building Permits | 1,018 | 945 | 991 | 6.9 | 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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