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    Analysis

    April 23, 2019

    Weak Housing Construction Report for March

    Written by Sandy Williams

    Housing starts showed continued weakness in March, dipping 0.3 percent from February’s downwardly revised data to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,139,000. Housing starts were 14.2 percent below the rate in March 2018.

    Single-family home starts dipped 0.4 percent from the previous month to the lowest level since September 2016. Starts for multi-dwelling homes of five units or more slid 3.4 percent. Total starts declined in the Northeast, Midwest and South, but jumped 31.4 percent in the West. Single-family starts rose 18.8 percent in the Northeast and 13.9 percent in the West. A decline of 21.2 percent was seen in the Midwest and 2.8 percent in the South.

    Sandy Williams

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