Housing Starts Dip 1.1% in February

The U.S. Commerce Dept. reported that privately-owned housing starts in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 698,000, 1.1 percent below the revised January estimate of 706,000, but 34.7 percent above the February 2011 rate of 518,000. Single-family housing starts in February were at a rate of 457,000, 9.9 percent below the revised January figure of 507,000. The February rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 233,000.

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 717,000, a solid 5.1 percent above the revised January rate of 682,000 and 34.3 percent above the February 2011 estimate of 534,000. Single-family authorizations in February were at a rate of 472,000, 4.9 percent above the revised January figure of 450,000.