US building permits down 1.9% in February, housing starts increase strongly

According to data from US Census Bureau, building permits for privately-owned housing units dropped for the first time in 5 months in February 2022, declining by 1.9% m/m, seasonally adjusted, to 1.86mn. The previous month increase was revised down by 0.2 pp to 0.5% m/m. On the other hand, private housing units starts rebounded strongly in February, jumping by 6.8% m/m from a revised 5.5% drop in January. The 1.77mn housing starts are the highest since June 2006. Starts of the most prevalent 1-unit housing type surged by 5.7% m/m to 1.22mn, while buildings with five units or more increased by 0.8% m/m to 501,000. Housing competitions increased by 5.9% m/m, to reach 1.31mn at a seasonally adjusted annual rate.

The US housing market is facing high demand despite rising mortgage rates. US builders, however, struggle with shortages and rising costs of building materials, therefore many houses approved for constructions have not been started yet.

More about US housing starts and building permits here

Further data and analysis on the US economy are available on the CEIC US Economy in a Snapshot – Q1 2022 report.