by Calculated Risk on 2/20/2013 08:43:00 AM
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Housing Starts decrease to 890 thousand SAAR in January, Single Family Starts Increase
From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions
Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 890,000. This is 8.5 percent below the revised December estimate of 973,000, but is 23.6 percent above the January 2012 rate of 720,000.
Single-family housing starts in January were at a rate of 613,000; this is 0.8 percent above the revised December figure of 608,000. The January rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 260,000.
Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 925,000. This is 1.8 percent above the revised December rate of 909,000 and is 35.2 percent above the January 2012 estimate of 684,000.
Single-family authorizations in January were at a rate of 584,000; this is 1.9 percent above the revised December figure of 573,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 311,000 in January.
![Total Housing Starts and Single Family Housing Starts](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRuVFrTRwo1-G8nb55RbdqX4BD9tU8wMpG9o6NL6GVZVTVo-DpsvgxH1Hav8ou59U6DGujtTuYXakXSJGXE3-kgc5wFSCz_IOJINLnloWFq_vOev8Xb_-vzUuKuACNx80js54CBA/s320/StartsShortJan2013.jpg)
The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts for the last several years.
Multi-family starts (red, 2+ units) decreased sharply in January.
Single-family starts (blue) increased to 613,000 thousand in January and are at the highest level since 2008.
The second graph shows total and single unit starts since 1968.
![Total Housing Starts and Single Family Housing Starts](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifycsODuIpXndUuuLQn-96KrTy9XXZAi1QBl1AMm20hNhpwzdNdn1dfbbbKt4P1YSU7GvULdA6Dx_h52B47r5N0H3JG1n5zlT7DftYhjj6VqW4JvF18VoqT4ZxSaqLCwPuruGgew/s320/StartsJan2013.jpg)
Total starts are up about 86% from the bottom start rate, and single family starts are up about 74 percent from the post-bubble low.
This was below expectations of 914 thousand starts in January due to the sharp decrease in the volatile multi-family sector. Starts in January were up 23.6% from January 2012. I'll have more later, but this was a solid report.