The U.S. Census Bureau reported that privately owned housing starts plummeted in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 479,000, 22.5% below the revised January estimate of 618,000 and 20.8% percent below the February 2010 rate of 605,000. Single-family housing starts dropped 11.8% in February to 375,000, 11.8 percent below the revised January figure of 425,000. The February rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 96,000.
Building permits were down, too, as privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 517,000, 8.2 percent below the revised January rate of 563,000 and 20.5 percent below the February 2010 estimate of 650,000. Single-family authorizations in February were at a rate of 382,000, 9.3% below the revised January figure of 421,000.