Housing Starts Up 9.9% YTY in January

Privately-owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 699,000, 1.5 percent above the revised December estimate of 689,000 and 9.9 percent above the Jan. 2011 rate of 636,000, according to the most-recent data available from the U.S. Census Dept. Single-family housing starts in January were at a rate of 508,000; one percent below the revised December figure of 513,000. The January rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 175,000.

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 676,000, 0.7 percent above the revised December rate of 671,000 and 19 percent above the Jan. 2011 estimate of 568,000. Single-family authorizations in January were at a rate of 445,000, 0.9 percent above the revised December figure of 441,000.