–Building Permits Up 0.7% To 676,000
By Brai Odion-Esene
WASHINGTON (MNI) – U.S. housing starts rose by 1.5% to an annual
rate of 699,000 units in January, fueled by a massive jump in
multi-family starts, while building permits rose by just 0.7% last
month.
At 699,000, housing starts exceeded the consensus of 680,000 among
economists surveyed by Market News International, but was in the middle
of the range.
December’s housing start number of 657,000 was revised up to
671,000. January’s housing starts are up 9.9% compared to January 2011
(636k).
The uptick in last month’s housing starts can be entirely explained
by multi-family starts, which rose 8.5% based on MNI calculations.
Single-family starts, on the other hand, were down 1.0% to 508,000 from
a revised 513,000 in December.
After being the only region to see a rise in housing starts in
December, the Midwest reported the only decline in January, plunging
40.7% to 102,000. The South led the increases with a 18.3% rise to
388,000, followed by a 11.9% increase in the West to 141,000 and then
the Northeast up 7.9% to 68,000.
As mentioned earlier, building permits rose 0.7% to 676,000.
December’s number of 679,000 was revised down to 671,000 from 679,000.
Permits are up 19.0% vs. January 2011 (568k)
Single-family units up 0.9% to 445,000, underlining the ongoing
caution in the housing market.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202)371-2121 **
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