Weather Tamps Down Housing Activity

The U.S. Census Bureau recently reported that single-family housing construction rose 0.3% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 583,000 units while multi-family starts edged 2.5% lower to a 312,000-unit pace.“While housing construction is in a recent lull due to unusual weather conditions, we expect to see an improvement as the winter weather pattern subsides and builders prepare for the spring selling season,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “Competitive mortgage rates, affordable home prices and an improving economy all point to a continuing, gradual strengthening of housing activity through the rest of the year. Moreover, building permits, which are less dependent on weather and are a harbinger of future building activity, rose above 1 million units in February.”