Housing starts in January rose 1.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 699,000, according to the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Economists had expected 688,000 housing starts for January. In December the number of starts was 689,000. Looking behind the headline numbers we see that single family housing starts declined 1% to 508,000 in January, while multi-unit starts increased by 14% to 175,000. The way I view these numbers is that a start is a start, and a construction job is just as valuable regardless of what type of unit is being built.
Housing starts in January rose 1.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 699,000, according to the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Economists had expected 688,000 housing starts for January. In December the number of starts was 689,000. Looking behind the headline numbers we see that single family housing starts declined 1% to 508,000 in January, while multi-unit starts increased by 14% to 175,000. The way I view these numbers is that a start is a start, and a construction job is just as valuable regardless of what type of unit is being built.