US Housing Starts Climb to Historic 1.769 Million in February

Source: US Census Bureau

Housing starts in the United States posted a strong rebound in February, even as permits issued posted a contraction during the month. XHB is up 0.24%, while ITB is up 0.14%.

• Seasonally adjusted privately-owned housing starts stood at 1.769 million, up 6.8% from January’s 1.657 and 22.3% higher than February 2021’s 1.447 million.
• Single-family housing starts climbed 5.7% to 1.215 million, and buildings with five units or more increased by 0.8% to 501,000.
• Permits issued for the month were recorded at 1.859 million, 1.9% lower than January’s 1.895 million but 7.7% higher than February 2021’s 1.726 million.
• Permits for single-family units declined by 0.5% to 1.207 million, by 3.5% for two to four units to 55,000, and for five units or more by 4.5% to 597,000.
• Housing completions for February were 1.309 million, up 5.9% from January’s 1.236 million but 2.8% lower than the 1.347 million recorded the same month in 2021.
• The highest number of completions were in the South, followed by the West, the Midwest, and the Northeast.