US home construction fell for a third month in February, but in a hopeful sign, applications for building permits rose to their highest level in four months.
HOUSING STARTS
Builders started work on 907,000 homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in February, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. This is 0.2 percent (±12.1%)* below the revised January estimate of 909,000 and is 6.4 percent (±9.9%)* below the February 2013 rate of 969,000.Single-family housing starts in February were at a rate of 583,000; this is 0.3 percent (±12.0%)* above the revised January figure of 581,000. The February rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 312,000.
HOUSING UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,018,000. This is 7.7 percent (±1.0%) above the revised January rate of 945,000 and is 6.9 percent (±1.2%) above the February 2013 estimate of 952,000. Single-family authorizations in February were at a rate of 588,000; this is 1.8 percent (±0.9%) below the revised January figure of 599,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 407,000 in February. That was down a slight 0.2% from January, when construction had fallen 11.2%.
The declines have been blamed in large part on severe winter weather in much of the country. Applications for permits to build homes, considered a gauge of future activity, rose a solid 7.7% in February to 1.02 million units. Many analysts expect housing sales and construction to show further gains this year, helped by a stronger economy.
HOUSING COMPLETIONS
Privately-owned housing completions in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 886,000. This is 4.4 percent (±9.5%)* above the revised January estimate of 849,000 and is 21.9 percent (±13.9%) above the February 2013 rate of 727,000.Single-family housing completions in February were at a rate of 631,000; this is 4.0 percent (±9.7%)* above the revised January rate of 607,000. The February rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 246,000.
* 90% confidence interval includes zero. The Census Bureau does not have sufficient statistical evidence to conclude that the actual change is different from zero