Housing starts rose in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.178 million, 5.2 percent above January’s revised estimate of 1.120 million, and 30.9 percent above the February 2015 rate. Housing starts have remained above the 1.0 million rate for 11 consecutive months.
Housing activity grew in three of the four regions, with starts rising 26.1 percent in the West, 19.9 percent in the Midwest and 7.1 percent in the South. Starts fell sharply in the Northeast however, falling by 51.3 percent.
New building permits dropped during the month, falling 3.1 percent below the January’s rate to 1.167 million, but grew 6.3 percent from February 2015.
Housing completions fell in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.016 million, 4.2 points below January’s rate, but up 17.5 points from a year ago.
Read the Census release.
