Housing starts and permits both fell back in December but follow large gains in November. Starts came in at an annualized 1.149 million rate in December for a 2.5 percent monthly dip while permits came in at 1.232 million for a 3.9 percent decline. Yet both of these readings for November surged more than 10 percent. Year-on-year, starts are up a healthy 6.4 percent with permits especially strong at 14.4 percent.
Starts for both single-family homes and multi-family homes fell in the month, down 3.3 percent to a 768,000 rate for the single-family category and down 1.0 percent to 381,000 for multi-family. Year-on-year, both are close at respective gains of 6.1 and 7.0 percent. The breakdown in permits shows a downdraft for multi-family homes, 11.4 percent lower to a 492,000 rate but which follows very strong gains in the prior two months. Permits for single-family homes rose 1.8 percent in the month to 740,000.
Housing completions jumped 5.6 percent in the month to edge over 1 million at 1.013 million, reflecting in part favorable weather. Homes under construction, also benefiting from the winter's mild weather, rose 1.7 percent with the year-on-year rate at plus 18.5 percent.
This report is below expectations and soft on a historical basis, but readings still point to respectable strength underway for new housing.
Hanover Advisors Inc. issued this content on 2016-01-20 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 2016-01-20 17:18:03 UTC
Original Document: http://www.hanoveradvisorsinc.com/housing-starts
