Briefing.com: Housing Starts

Updated: 18-Mar-25 09:10 ET

February Housing Starts

Updated: 18-Mar-25 09:10 ET

Highlights

Total housing starts increased 11.2% month-over-month in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.501 million (Briefing.com consensus 1.385 million), with single-unit starts up 11.4%.
Building permits were down 1.2% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.456 million. Single-unit permits were down 0.2%.

Key Factors

The change in single-unit starts by region: Northeast (+75.0%); Midwest (-25.6%); South (+19.6%); and West (+1.8%).
The change in single-unit permits by region: Northeast (+1.6%); Midwest (-4.5%); South (+3.7%); and West (-7.8%).
Multi-unit starts increased 10.7% month-over-month while multi-unit permits decreased 3.1% month-over-month.
The number of units under construction at the end of the period increased 0.1% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.412 million.

Big Picture

The key takeaway from the report is that starts activity was bolstered by the return of better weather, which was reflected in the 18.3% increase in housing starts in the South region (they were down 23.0% in January).