The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday jointly announced that privately-owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 880,000. This is 16.0 percent below the revised December estimate of 1,048,000 and 2.0 percent below the January 2013 rate of 898,000. "Cold weather clearly put a chill on new home construction last month and this is also reflected in our latest builder confidence survey," Kevin Kelly, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders and a home builder and developer from Wilmington, Del., said in a statement. "Further, builders continue to face other obstacles, including rising materials prices and a lack of buildable lots and labor."
The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday jointly announced that privately-owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 880,000. This is 16.0 percent below the revised December estimate of 1,048,000 and 2.0 percent below the January 2013 rate of 898,000. "Cold weather clearly put a chill on new home construction last month and this is also reflected in our latest builder confidence survey," Kevin Kelly, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders and a home builder and developer from Wilmington, Del., said in a statement. "Further, builders continue to face other obstacles, including rising materials prices and a lack of buildable lots and labor."
But it's not all bad news, added NAHB chief economist David Crowe: "Though the decline in starts is largely weather related, it is worth noting that on the upside housing production for the fourth quarter was above 1 million for the first time since 2008, while single-family permits held relatively steady. The less weather-sensitive permits data suggests that our forecast for solid growth in single-family housing production in 2014 remains on track, as pent-up housing demand is unleashed."
The following are other new residential construction statistics for January:
• Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 937,000. This is 5.4 percent below the revised December rate of 991,000, but 2.4 percent above the January 2013 estimate of 915,000.
• Single-family authorizations in January were at a rate of 602,000. This is 1.3 percent below the revised December figure of 610,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 309,000 in January.
• Single-family housing starts in January were at a rate of 573,000. This is 15.9 percent below the revised December figure of 681,000. The January rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 300,000.
• Privately-owned housing completions in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 814,000. This is 4.6 percent above the revised December estimate of 778,000 and 13.1 percent above the January 2013 rate of 720,000.
• Single-family housing completions in January were at a rate of 580,000. This is 3.0 percent above the revised December rate of 563,000. The January rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 220,000.
