by Calculated Risk on 3/19/2013 08:43:00 AM
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Housing Starts increase to 917 thousand SAAR in February
From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions
Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 917,000. This is 0.8 percent above the revised January estimate of 910,000 and is 27.7 percent above the February 2012 rate of 718,000.
Single-family housing starts in February were at a rate of 618,000; this is 0.5 percent above the revised January figure of 615,000. The February rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 285,000.
Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 946,000. This is 4.6 percent above the revised January rate of 904,000 and is 33.8 percent above the February 2012 estimate of 707,000.
Single-family authorizations in February were at a rate of 600,000; this is 2.7 percent above the revised January figure of 584,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 316,000 in February.
![Total Housing Starts and Single Family Housing Starts](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS2DNMrPpdRubiXor2k9XjT90B9DO6xgaxUrJdOMuU9l-3yBYlogpj1SQjiTtSFgrCbZo2rsAG1qZMRKJseG2FRxseRmwiIlSYCPqXruptYjLEiUt33NGMYg-DpHkxhoR_PlX0LA/s320/StartsShortFeb2013.jpg)
The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts for the last several years.
Multi-family starts (red, 2+ units) increased slightly in February.
Single-family starts (blue) increased to 618,000 in February and are at the highest level since June 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/AVvXsEgKTrah1JqW5koRprhkUNxuLcxs0hMs0uwtX50-nUVA_dlxf_LZXD5dpLR8kq5X6PhDapDhMw22BbT7D87NYVRgfg3mX55tHisJ5drzSsCuLBhbPHZZ5zvnBr6ZgxO00R68xsJfwQ/s320/StartsFeb2013.jpg)
Total starts are up about 90% from the bottom start rate, and single family starts are up about 75% from the post-bubble low.
This was at expectations of 919 thousand starts in February. Starts in February were up 27.7% from February 2012; single family starts were up 31.5% year-over-year. Starts in December and January were revised up, and permits were strong. I'll have more later, but this was another solid report.