The Commerce Department reported(.pdf) that housing starts rose 0.8 percent in February to an annual rate of 917,000 units and permits for new construction, a key leading indicator for the home building industry, jumped 4.6 percent to a rate of 946,000, the highest level since June 2008.
From year ago levels, housing starts are up 27.7 percent and permit issuance is 33.8 percent higher.
Starts for single-family homes rose 0.5 percent to a rate of 618,000 units, also the highest level since 2008, accounting for about two-thirds of the overall total, however, home building remains about one-third below the pre-housing bubble pace of about 1.5 million units per year.
It is once again worth pointing out that not too much should be inferred from housing data at this time of the year due to dramatically lower activity in most of the country during the winter months and the outsized impact of seasonal adjustments. Nonetheless, this offers more evidence of ongoing improvement in the housing market as builders ramp up their plans for new construction in the months ahead.
Source: Iacono Research
