Housing Starts Rise, but Less Than Expected

The seasonally adjusted rate of new building permits rose to 946,000, which is 4.6% above the upwardly revised January rate of 904,000, as well as 33.8% higher than the February 2012 rate of 707,000.

Single-family housing starts rose to an annualized rate of 618,000 in February, up 0.5% from the upwardly revised January rate of 615,000.

Permits for new single-family homes rose 0.7% in February, to an adjusted annual rate of 600,000, from an upwardly revised total of 584,000 in December.

Although a little weaker than expected, today’s report shows a sharp increase in the number of permits issued, a good sign going forward. The number of multifamily starts also improved significantly month-over-month, from a drop of 19.2% in January to a rise of 1.4% in February.

The National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) yesterday reported another drop in builder confidence, blaming a broken supply chain and tight financing.