The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have recently announced new residential construction statistics for February 2016. According to the data, building permits for privately-owned housing units in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,167,000, down 3.1 percent from the revised January rate of 1,204,000. Compared to a year ago, the rate was 6.3 percent above the February 2015 rate of 1,098,000. Building permits for single-family housing in February were estimated at 731,000, up 0.4 percent from the revised January rate of 728,000. Building permits for units in buildings with five units or more in February were at a rate of 401,000.
In February, privately-owned housing starts were at an adjusted rate of 1,178,000, up 5.2 percent from January’s revised estimate of 1,120,000 and up a significant 30.9 percent from the February 2015 rate of 900,000. Single-family housing starts were at a rate of 822,000 in February, up 7.2 percent from the revised January rate of 767,000. For units in buildings with five units or more, the February rate was 341,000.
As for housing completions, the February rate for privately-owned housing was at a seasonally adjusted annual estimate of 1,016,000, down 4.2 percent from January’s revised rate of 1,060,000, but up 17.5 percent from the February 2015 estimate of 865,000. Single-family housing completions were at a rate of 736,000 for February, putting it 6.1 percent above January’s revised rate of 694,000. The housing completion rate for units in buildings with five units or more was at 261,000 in February.
For more information, click here to read the full U.S. Census Bureau/U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development Press Release.
