Housing Starts, Building Permits Rose in February

Construction and completion of new, privately owned homes rose in February, and the number of authorized building permits increased as well, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

What’s going on: Housing starts rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,521,000 in February, 10.7% above the revised January estimate and 5.9% higher than the February 2023 rate.

Housing units authorized by building permits came in at a seasonally adjusted rate of 1,518,000 in February, 1.9% higher than the revised January rate and 2.4% above the February 2023 rate.
Housing completions were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,729,000, 19.7% higher than the revised January estimate and 9.6% above the February 2023 rate.

In related news: U.S. homebuilders’ confidence in the housing market rose to its highest level since July, according to Fox Business.