After slipping 14.3 percent in January, housing starts last month rebounded 9.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.525 million units, leaving production 28.5 percent below the pace of a year earlier, the Commerce Department reported on March 20.
On the heels of an 11.2 percent stumble in January, construction of new single-family homes rose 10.3% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.220 million units.
Multifamily housing construction, which skidded 24.5 percent last month, climbed 4.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 305,000 units in February.
Permits, considered a less volatile measure of housing construction activity, were issued at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.532 million units in February, down 2.5 percent for the month and 28.6% from a year earlier.
“Unusually good weather in the South and West enabled builders to begin construction of many single-family homes that had been sold and permitted earlier,” said NAHB President Brian Catalde. “At the same time, unusually bad weather held down building activity in the Northeast and Midwest.”
“Shifting weather conditions have created a lot of month-to-month volatility in both housing starts and building permits during recent months,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “The trend lines are still slightly downward, although we probably are now approaching a bottom in the market.”
“NAHB’s forecast shows a gradual increase in housing starts beginning in the second quarter of this year,” Seiders added, “although we expect that total to be down about 17 percent from 2006.”
Regionally, construction of new homes and apartments was up 18.0 percent in the South and 26.4 percent in the West but down 14.4 percent in the Midwest and 29.7 percent in the Northeast. However, housing construction in February was substantially below the pace of a year earlier in all four regions of the country.
Permits, considered a less volatile measure of housing construction activity, were issued at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.532 million units in February, down 2.5 percent for the month and 28.6 percent from a year earlier.
The issuance of single-family permits declined 3.1% to an annual rate of 1.089 million units during February, 32.9 percent below February 2006. Multifamily permits dropped 0.9 percent to 443,000 units, 15.3 percent below their year-earlier rate.