Analysis

Housing Starts Slow in December

January 21, 2016

Housing starts and permit authorizations fell from November to December, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce report, despite unseasonably warm temperatures. The drop surprised economists who expected gains from the mild weather and from the positive report of construction jobs added in December.

Housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,149,000, down 2.5 percent below November’s revised rate, but 6.4 percent higher than the Dec. 2014 estimate.

Single-family housing starts in December were at a rate of 768,000; and the rate for buildings with five units or more was 365,000.

For the year 2015, an estimated 1,111,200 housing units were started, a 10.8 percent gain from 2014.

Building permits fell 3.9 percent from the revised November of 1,282,000 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,232,000.

Single-family authorizations in December increased 1.8 percent from November to a rate of 740,000. Multiple unit authorizations fell in December. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 455,000 in December, a drop of 13.5 percent from the previous month but up by 23.6 percent compared to a year ago.

An estimated 1,178,400 housing units were authorized by building permits in 2015. This is 12.0 percent above the 2014 figure of 1,052,100.

Housing completions in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,013,000; 5.6 percent above the revised November estimate of 959,000 and 7.9 percent above the December 2014 rate of 939,000.

Single-family housing completions in December grew 8.8 percent from November to a rate of 696,000. December rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 307,000.

An estimated 965,700 housing units were completed in 2015, a 9.3 percent increase from the 2014 figure of 883,800.