The U.S. Government is reporting that privately owned housing starts in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,236,000. This is number 7.0% below the January’s revised estimate and is 4% lower than February 2017. Interestingly, single-family housing starts in February were at a rate of 902k, which is 2.9% above January’s revised figure. February’s rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 317k. Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,298,000. This is 5.7% below January’s revised rate of 1,377,000, but is 6.5% higher than February 2017. Single-family authorizations in February were at a rate of 872k, which is 0.6% lower than January’s revised number. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 385k.
