Global| Apr 17 2012U.S. Housing Starts Stay In The Cellar
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Housing starts unexpectedly returned to a five month low last month. Despite mild weather, the 5.8% decline (+10.3% y/y) left starts at 654,000 in March. Expectations had been for 700,000. Lower starts of multi-family homes accounted [...]
Housing starts unexpectedly returned to a five month low last month. Despite mild weather, the 5.8% decline (+10.3% y/y) left starts at 654,000 in March. Expectations had been for 700,000.
Lower starts of multi-family homes accounted for the decline in the total. They fell 16.9% (+9.7% y/y) following two months of strong increase. Starts of single-family homes slipped 0.2% m/m but rose 10.5% y/y. The performance amongst regions was mixed. Starts in the South fell 15.9% m/m. Elsewhere, starts rose by one-third in the Northeast but were little changed in the Midwest and West.
Building permits rose 4.5% m/m during March to 747,000. The nearly one-third y/y rise brought permits to the highest since September 2008. Single-family permits fell 3.5% (+17.9% y/y). Multi-family permits increased 20.8% and by 56.6% 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 | Y/Y % | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 654 | 694 | 714 | 10.3 | 611 | 585 | 554 |
| Single-Family | 462 | 463 | 509 | 10.5 | 434 | 471 | 442 |
| Multi-Family | 192 | 231 | 205 | 9.7 | 177 | 114 | 112 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 89 | 67 | 73 | 45.9 | 68 | 72 | 61 |
| Midwest | 102 | 101 | 103 | 25.9 | 103 | 97 | 95 |
| South | 334 | 397 | 400 | -0.9 | 309 | 296 | 281 |
| West | 129 | 129 | 138 | 13.2 | 131 | 120 | 117 |
| Building Permits | 747 | 715 | 682 | 30.1 | 606 | 603 | 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.
More Economy in Brief
