Residential construction boomed in February thanks to lower rates and more demand, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau.
Building Permits. Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in February jumped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.524M, up 13.8% from last month but down 17.9% from last year. Single‐family authorizations jumped 7.6% to 777,000.
- Regionally, the South continues to dominate by representing 55% of all permit activity followed by the West (25%), the Midwest (13%), and the Northeast (7%). Single-family authorizations in the South jumped 9.8% to 472k, 61% of all single-family permits.
Housing Starts. Privately-owned housing starts increased in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.45M, up 9.8% from last month but down 18.4% from last year. Single‐family housing starts in the South were up 1.1% to 830,000.
- Regionally, the South is responsible for 55% of all starts followed by the West (24%), the Midwest (14%) and the Northeast (7%). Single‐family housing starts in the south were down 4.7% to 509k (61% of all single-family starts).
Housing Completions. Privately-owned housing completions in February jumped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,557,000, up 12.2% from las month and up 12.8% from last year. Single‐family housing completions in February were up 1.0% to 1.037M.
- Regionally, the South is responsible for 56% of all housing completions followed by the West (26%), the Midwest (12%), and the Northeast (6%). Single‐family housing completions in the South were up 5.1% to 621k, 60% of all completions.