US Housing Starts, Permits, and Completion Data Released for January

The US Census Bureau reported on Thursday (2-16-23) that privately‐owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,309,000. This is 4.5% below the revised December estimate of 1,371,000 and 21.4% below the January 2022 rate of 1,666,000. Single-family housing starts in January were at a rate of 841,000; this is 4.3% below the revised December figure of 879,000. The January rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 457,000.

Building permits are the forward-looking portion of the report, and in January, privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits were at a SAAR of 1,339,000. This is 0.1% above the revised December rate of 1,337,000 but 27.3% below the January 2022 rate of 1,841,000. Single-family authorizations in January were at a rate of 718,000; this is 1.8% below the revised December figure of 731,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 563,000.

Privately‐owned housing completions in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,406,000. This is 1.0% above the revised December estimate of 1,392,000 and 12.8% above the January 2022 rate of 1,247,000. Single‐family housing completions in January were at a rate of 1,040,000; this is 4.4% above the revised December rate of 996,000. The January rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 349,000.