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Housing Starts Dip 1.1% in February

March 23, 2012
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.

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.