Briefing.com: Housing Starts

Updated: 19-Feb-20 09:20 ET

January Housing Starts

Updated: 19-Feb-20 09:20 ET

Highlights

Granted total housing starts declined 3.6% m/m in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.567 million (Briefing.com consensus 1.390 million), but that was well above expectations and marked a 21.4% yr/yr increase.
Building permits -- a leading indicator -- increased 9.2% m/m to 1.551 million (Briefing.com consensus 1.460 million) and were up 17.9% yr/yr.

Key Factors

Permits for single-family homes increased 6.4% m/m to 987,000 and were up 20.2% yr/yr.
Single-family starts declined 5.9% m/m to 1.010 million, but were up 4.6% yr/yr.
Permits for single-family units by region: Northeast (+39.6%); Midwest (+2.2%); South (+5.0%); and West (+4.8%).
Single-family unit starts by region: Northeast (+3.1%); Midwest (-15.1%); South (-12.2%); and West (+14.2%).
The number of units under construction at the end of the period increased 1.3% m/m to 1.203 million. That was 2.7% above the Q4 average and will be a positive input with respect to Q1 GDP forecasts.

Big Picture

The key takeaway from the report is the recognition that the three-month moving average for starts (1.525 mln) is the highest since January 2007.