Housing Starts Surge Unevenly: Surprised? Why?

Housing Starts Surge Unevenly: Surprised? Why?

Housing starts jumped 9.7% but the surge was primarily in the South, and primarily multi-family.
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Housing starts jumped 9.7% but the surge was primarily in the South, and primarily multi-family.

Here are the numbers from the Census Bureau's New Residential Construction Report.

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Housing starts surged 9.7%, with single-family starts up 3.7%.

Single-family starts were up in the South, the largest region, and Northeast, the smallest region, but down in the Midwest and West.

Five unit or more starts were up a whopping 19.7%.

Everyone seems surprised by the number. Is it that surprising? Let's take another look at recent New Home Sales.

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Logic would dictate that a surge in starts would follow the surge in sales.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock

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For the fourth consecutive month, housing stats provided a wild ride. For December, starts rose 11.3%, but that was thanks to a 57% jump in multi-family.

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Today's construction report shows permits fell 0.6%, single-family starts fell 1.8%, but multi-family starts rose 1.6%.