US Housing Starts, Permits, and Completions All Rise in February

The US Census Bureau reported on Thursday (3-16-23) that privately‐owned housing starts in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,450,000. This is 9.8% above the revised January estimate of 1,321,000 but is 18.4% below the February 2022 rate of 1,777,000. Single-family housing starts in February were at a rate of 830,000; this is 1.1% above the revised January figure of 821,000. The February rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 608,000.

Building permits are the forward-looking portion of the report, and in February, privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits were at a SAAR of 1,524,000. This is 13.8% above the revised January rate of 1,339,000 but is 17.9% below the February 2022 rate of 1,857,000. Single-family authorizations in February were at a rate of 777,000; this is 7.6% above the revised January figure of 722,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 700,000 in February.

Privately‐owned housing completions in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,557,000. This is 12.2% above the revised January estimate of 1,388,000 and is 12.8% above the February 2022 rate of 1,380,000. Single‐family housing completions in February were at a rate of 1,037,000; this is 1.0% above the revised January rate of 1,027,000. The February rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 509,000.