Housing Starts and Completions Improve Month-Over-Month, but Building Permits Lag in February 2022

The U.S. Census Bureau reported on Thursday (3-17-22) that privately‐owned housing starts in February 2022 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,769,000. This is 6.8% above the revised January estimate of 1,657,000 and is 22.3% above the February 2021 rate of 1,447,000. Single-family housing starts in February were at a rate of 1,215,000. This is 5.7% above the revised January figure of 1,150,000. The February rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 501,000.

Building permits are the forward-looking portion of the report. In February, privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits were at a SAAR of 1,859,000. This is -1.9% below the revised January rate of 1,895,000 but is 7.7% above the February 2021 rate of 1,726,000. Single-family authorizations in February were at a rate of 1,207,000. This is -0.5% below the revised January figure of 1,213,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 597,000.

Privately‐owned housing completions in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,309,000. This is 5.9% above the revised January estimate of 1,236,000 but is -2.8% below the February 2021 rate of 1,347,000. Single‐family housing completions in February were at a rate of 1,034,000. This is 12.1% above the revised January rate of 922,000. The February rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 266,000.