January Housing Starts Remain Strong

The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that Privately‐owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,567,000. This is 3.6% below the revised December estimate of 1,626,000, but is 21.4% above the January 2019 rate of 1,291,000. Single‐family housing starts in January were at a rate of 1,010,000; this is 5.9% below the revised December figure of 1,073,000. Building permits are the forward-looking portion of the report. Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,551,000. This is 9.2% above the revised December rate of 1,420,000 and is 17.9% above the January 2019 rate. Single‐family authorizations in January were at a rate of 987,000; this is 6.4% above the revised December figure of 928,000.