Housing Starts Surge in January

January privately-owned housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 596,000, 14.6 percent above the revised December estimate of 520,000, but 2.6 percent below the January 2010 rate of 612,000, according to the U.S. Census Dept. Single-family housing starts in January were at a rate of 413,000, one percent below the revised December figure of 417,000. The January rate for buildings with five units or more was 171,000.

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 562,000, 10.4 percent below the revised December rate of 627,000 and 10.7 percent below the January 2010 estimate of 629,000. Single-family permits in January were at a rate of 421,000, 4.8 percent below the revised December figure of 442,000.

New Privately Owned Housing Units Started

(Thousands of units, seasonally adjusted annual rate)

Period Total 1 Unit 5 Units or more Northeast Midwest South West January 2011₁ 596 413 171 78 90 307 121 December 2010₂ 520 417 95 55 66 265 134 November 2010₂ 548 455 79 77 109 265 97 October 2010 533 433 88 81 94 263 95 September 2010 601 447 148 69 97 301 134 January 2010 612 511 94 70 91 326 125

1-Preliminary; 2-Revised; Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census