Housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.288 million in February, 3.0% above the revised January rate of 1.251 million, and 6.2% above the February 2016 rate.
Housing activity increased in only one out of the four regions as the West saw housing starts jump 35.7%. The Northeast, Midwest, and South experienced declines of 9.8%, 4.6%, and 3.8%, respectively.
New building permits decreased during the month, falling 6.2% to 1.213 million. However, permits were up 4.4% from the February 2016 rate.
Housing completions were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.114 million, up 5.4% from the revised January estimate and 8.7% above the February 2016 rate.
Read the Census release.
