Housing starts declined 10.3% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.4 million units, the U.S. Census Bureau reports. Compared with February 2020, starts declined 9.3%.
"Despite strength in buyer traffic and lack of existing inventory, builders are slowing some production of single-family homes as lumber and other material costs, along with interest rates, continue to rise," stated Chuck Fowke, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. "Shortages of lumber and other building materials, including appliances, are putting future construction expansion at risk."
Single-family starts declined 8.5%, and the multifamily sector fell 15.0%.
Regionally, compared with January, overall housing starts fell 39.5% in the Northeast, 34.9% in the Midwest, 9.7% in the South, while they increased 17.6% in the West.
Building permits declined 10.8% in February to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.68 million (up 17.0% compared with February 2020).
Housing completions increased 2.9% to an adjusted rate of 1.36 million (up 5.0% compared with February 2020).
The full report can be found here.
