January Housing Starts Slow - Building Permits 35% Above January 2012 Estimates

Single-family housing starts were flat at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 613,000, up just 0.8 percent from the revised December figure of 608,000. The seasonally adjusted annual rate was 260,000 unit starts for buildings with five or more units.

Building permits, an indicator of future construction, rose 1.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 925,000 in January—a strong 35.2 percent above the January 2012 estimate of 684,000. Single family authorizations were up 1.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate 584,000 from the revised rate of 573,000 in December. Building permits were authorized at seasonally adjusted annual rate for 311,000 units in buildings with five units or more in January.

Privately owned housing completions in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 724,000—6 percent above the revised December estimate of 683,000 and 33.6 percent above the January 2012 rate. A seven percent increase for single family housing completions brought the annual rate to 565,000. The rate for units in buildings with five or more units was 152,000.