Jan. housing data exceed expectations, with future growth seen

WASHINGTON — The pace of housing starts surged by 9.7% to a 1.326 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in January, well ahead of expectations for a 1.225 million rate and the strongest pace since October 2016, data reported by the Commerce Department Friday morning showed.

housing starts building permits

Housing starts rose by 45.5% in the Northeast, 9.3% in the large South region and 10.7% in the West region, to its highest level since December 2006, partially offset by a 10.2% decline in the Midwest.

Housing starts of single-family homes rose by 3.7% in January after a 10.6% decline in the previous month. Starts of multi-family homes jumped 23.7% after a 2.8% gain in December, based on an MNI calculation.

Building permits rose 7.4% in the month to a 1.396 million rate, the strongest pace since June 2007. Homes permitted but not started rose 0.6%. Single-family permits authorized fell 1.7%, while multi-family permits saw a 26.5% surge. As a result, start could rise further in the coming months.

Unadjusted starts rose 9.5% from their year ago level, a sign that home building remains on an upward trend. The NAHB index for January reported on Thursday was unchanged from December, but remained elevated.

The January housing starts pace was well ahead of the 1.256 million fourth quarter average, while permits were up from the 1.306 million fourth quarter average.

Market News International is a real-time global news service for fixed-income and foreign exchange market professionals. See www.marketnews.com.
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