Housing starts in February fell 7% from January and 4% from the same month last year to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,236,000, the Census Bureau and Deptartment of Housing and Urban Development reported today. The drop was driven by sharp declines in multifamily starts.
Single-family housing starts in February were at a rate of 902,000, 2.9% above the revised January figure of 877,000 and also was 2.9% ahead of February, 2017. The February rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 317,000, down 28% sequentially and 19.1% year-over-year.
Building permits fell 5.7% from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,298,000, still 6.5% above the February 2017 rate of 1,219,000. Single-family authorizations fell 0.6% to a rate of 872,000 but remained 4.6% ahead of the same month last year. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 385,000 in February, down 14.8% from January but up 13.2% from a year earlier.
Housing completions in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,319,000, 7.8% above the revised January estimate of 1,224,000 and 13.6% above the February 2017 rate of 1,161,000. Single-family housing completions in February were at a rate of 895,000, up 3.0% from the revised January rate of 869,000. The February rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 418,000, up 21.5% sequentially and up 9.4% year-over-year.
