Economy

Housing starts drop again in January
Written by Ethan Bernard
February 19, 2024
US housing starts fell for the second consecutive month in January, according to the most recent data from the US Census Bureau.
Total housing starts stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,331,000 units in January, off 14.8% from the revised December estimate of 1,562,000. This is also 0.7% below the January 2023 rate of 1,340,000, Census said.
Single‐family housing starts in January were 1,004,000, down 4.7% from the revised December figure of 1,054,000.
“Moderating mortgage interest rates in 2024 will ultimately lead to gains for single-family home building this year,” Alicia Huey, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), said in a statement.
“However,” she added, “tighter lending conditions and higher costs for construction and development loans are holding back some construction at the start of the year.”
Regionally, combined single-family and multi-family starts were down across the nation month over month (m/m). They fell 20.6% in the Northeast, 30% in the Midwest, 9.7% in the South, and 15.7% in the West.
At the same time, the overall number of privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in January was at a SAAR of 1,470,000. While down 1.5% from a revised December rate of 1,493,000, tha was 8.6% higher than the January 2023 rate of 1,354,000.


Ethan Bernard
Read more from Ethan BernardLatest in Economy

Durable goods orders rise again in February
Transportation equipment led the increase, rising 1.5% to $98.3 billion.

Consumer confidence falls for fourth consecutive month
People remain concerned about inflation, trade policies, and tariffs.

Housing starts ticked up in February
Single-family starts last month hit a rate of 1.10 million, a month-over-month increase of 11.4%, census data shows.

Architecture billings continued to slide in February
The ABI is a leading indicator for near-term nonresidential construction activity and projects business conditions ~9-12 months down the road (the typical lead time between architecture billings and construction spending).

New York state manufacturing activity tumbles in March
After a modest recovery in February, business activity in New York state’s manufacturing sector declined sharply in March, according to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.