Weather Wreaked Havoc on February Starts, Completions

Housing starts and completions plummeted nationwide inrnFebruary, but especially in the Northeast and Midwest where record cold andrnnearly constant snowstorms took a substantial toll. Nationwide, housing startsrnwere down 17.0 percent from January’s slightly upwardly revised estimate ofrn1,081,000 units to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 897,000.  Given that February 2014 had also featured<bunusually brutal weather the recent month’s number was down only 3.3 percentrnfrom the 928,000 starts reported a year earlier.  </p

Single-family construction starts in February were down 14.9rnpercent from the previous month’s rate of 697,000 to a seasonally adjustedrnannual rate of 593,000.  In February 2014rnthe rate was fractionally higher at 589,000 units.  Starts in buildings with five or more unitsrndropped 21.6 percent from the previous month to 297,000 units on an annualrnbasis.</p

On a non-adjusted basis construction started on an estimatedrn62,400 housing units in February compared to 73,500 in January.  Single-family starts were estimated atrn40,700.</p

Housing starts were down in every region with the Northeastrnfalling 56.5 percent from the previous month and 46.0 percent compared to arnyear earlier.  In the Midwest thernFebruary number was down 37.0 percent and 20.5 percent from the two earlierrnperiods.  The month-over-month loss inrnthe South was a relatively moderate 2.5 percent while starts increased 2.4rnpercent from a year earlier.  In the Westrnstarts were 18.2 percent lower than in January but 10.1 percent above Februaryrn2014 figures. </p

Construction completions were also affected by the weather,rnwith 13.8 percent fewer units completed in February than in January.  The annual rate of completions fell from anrnestimated rate of 986,000 units (revised upward from 930,000) in January to 850,000rnin February.  The latter figure was 1.8rnpercent below the rate of 866,000 units in February 2014.</p

Single-family home completions in February were at a rate ofrn595,000, down 12.1 percent month-over-month. rnCompletions in buildings with five units or more was estimated at a raternof 236,000 compared to 302,000 in January, a drop of 21.9 percent.</p

On a non-adjusted basis there were 58,000 housing unitsrncompleted in February, 41,600 of which were single-family.  In January completions numbered 65,800.</p

On a regional basis the Northeast saw the rate ofrncompletions fall by 29.3 percent from January and 18.5 percent from a yearrnearlier.  The Midwest was down 7.4rnpercent and 18.2 percent for the two periods. rnIn the South completions decreased by 14.0 percent for the month butrnwere up 5.3 percent from February 2014 and in the West they were down 12.0rnpercent for the month but unchanged year-over-year.</p

Permits fared better than the other two metrics, rising fromrna seasonally adjusted annual estimate of 1,060,000 in January (revised from thern1,053,000 units originally reported) to 1,092,000, an increase of 3.0rnpercent.  The February pace was up 7.7rnpercent from the 1,014,000 rate of permitting in February 2014. </p

Single family permits were issued at a rate of 620,000, downrn6.2 percent from January’s 661,000. rnPermits in multi-family buildings were up 19.9 percent from the Januaryrnpace to an annual rate of 445,000 which was also 15.0 percent higher than arnyear earlier.</p

On a non-adjusted basis there were 76,800 permits issued inrnFebruary compared to 70,000 the previous month and 70,600 in Februaryrn2014.  Single-family permits totaledrn43,300, down 2,000 from the January number.</p

Permits were down significantly in the Northeast where theyrnwere issued at a rate 17.4 percent below that of January and 6.3 percent lowerrnthan a year earlier.  Elsewhere total permittingrnrose but single family permits were down everywhere but in the West.  In the Midwest permits were issued at a 6.1rnpercent higher rate than in January and 14.6 percent higher than in Februaryrn2014.  In the South the increases were 7.3rnpercent and 4.9 percent and in the West they were up 2.2 percent and 16.3rnpercent.</p

At the end of February there were an estimated 836,000rnhousing units under construction.  Approximatelyrn123,500 permits had been issued for which construction had not yet beenrnstarted.

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