Housing Starts Increase 27.7% YTY in February

The Department of Commerce reported that privately-owned housing starts in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 917,000, 0.8% above the revised January estimate of 910,000 and 27.7% above the February 2012 rate of 718,000. Single-family housing starts in February were at a rate of 618,000, 0.5% above the revised January figure of 615,000. The February rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 285,000.

In a press release from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), Washington, D.C., analyzing the February housing numbers, Rick Judson, NAHB chairman and a home builder from Charlotte, N.C., said, “Demand for new homes and apartments is definitely rising as the spring buying season approaches and more young people move out on their own.”