Housing Starts Drop 8.8% in March But are Tracking 14.2% Year-Over-Year

Privately-owned housing starts in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,089,000, 8.8% below the revised February estimate of 1,194,000, but 14.2% above the March 2015 rate of 954,000. Single-family housing starts in March were at a rate of 764,000, 9.2% below the revised February figure of 841,000.

“Construction of new homes lost momentum in March, while February was revised higher for single-family building to the fastest pace since Oct. 2007,” said Kristin Reynolds, U.S. economist, IHS Global Insight, in a press statement. “Housing starts sank more than expected in March, but these numbers are very volatile. The three-month average of housing starts did dip into negative territory; the trend in single-family starts lost 0.2%, its first decline in five months, while multi-family starts dropped 6%.”