Housing starts rebound in February by largest amount in nine months
Source: MarketWatch
Last Updated: March 19, 2024 at 9:13 a.m. ET
First Published: March 19, 2024 at 8:32 a.m. ET
The numbers: Construction of new U.S. homes rebounded 10.7% in February to an annual pace of 1.52 million units, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That is the biggest gain in nine months. Despite the increase, starts are still below December’s level.
Economists on Wall Street were expecting a 7.4% rise in housing starts in February to 1.43 million. All numbers are seasonally adjusted.
The number of housing starts in January was revised slightly higher, to a drop of 12.3% to 1.37 million, from an initial reading of a 14.8% drop to 1.33 million. It is still the biggest drop since May 2022.
Building permits, a sign of future construction, rose 1.9% in February, also reaching a 1.52 million annual rate. That’s the highest level since August. Economists expected a 1.4% increase to 1.49 million in February. Building permits in January were revised to a fall of 0.3% to 1.49 million, from the initial estimate of a 1.5% drop to 1.4.7 million.
Read more: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/housing-starts-rebound-in-february-3ecd146b
