by Calculated Risk on 2/17/2016 08:37:00 AM

From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions

Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,099,000. This is 3.8 percent below the revised December estimate of 1,143,000, but is 1.8 percent above the January 2015 rate of 1,080,000.

Single-family housing starts in January were at a rate of 731,000; this is 3.9 percent below the revised December figure of 761,000. The January rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 354,000.

Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,202,000. This is 0.2 percent below the revised December rate of 1,204,000, but is 13.5 percent above the January 2015 estimate of 1,059,000.

Single-family authorizations in January were at a rate of 720,000; this is 1.6 percent below the revised December figure of 732,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 442,000 in January.
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts for the last several years.

Multi-family starts (red, 2+ units) decreased in January.  Multi-family starts are down 2% year-over-year.

Single-family starts (blue) decreased in January and are up 3.5% year-over-year.



The second graph shows total and single unit starts since 1968.

 The second graph shows the huge collapse following the housing bubble, and then - after moving sideways for a couple of years - housing is now recovering (but still historically low),

Total housing starts in January were below expectations.  I'll have more later ...