New
construction
of
residential
homes
came
in
strong
in
February,
with
a
large
concentration
of
the
gains
on
the
single-family
side.

Homebuilders
continue
to
feel

confident
about
the
spring
market
as
demand
for
new
construction
remains
robust. 

Privately
owned

housing
starts
grew
to
a
seasonally
adjusted
annual
rate
of
1.521
million
units,
up
10.7%
month
over
month
and
up
5.9%
year
over
year,
according
to
a

report
released
Tuesday
by
the


U.S.
Census
Bureau
and
the


U.S.
Department
of
Housing
and
Urban
Development
(HUD).

Single‐family
housing
starts
in
February
climbed
11.6%
to
a
rate
of
1.129
million
units,
while

multifamily
starts
also
ticked
up
to
377,000
units. 

In
recent
months,
fewer
builders
have
been
offering
price
cuts,
according
to
the
most
recent


National
Association
of
Home
Builders
(NAHB)
survey. 

“It
is
possible
that
we
could
see
more
wiggle
room
on
pricing
in
the
coming
months,
as
the
inventory
of
existing
homes
begins
to
expand,”

Bright
MLS
chief
economist
Lisa
Sturtevant
said
in
a
statement.

While
single-family
starts
were
35.2%
higher
than
they
were
last
year
at
this
time,
starts
for
new
multifamily
buildings
(five
or
more
units)
fell
by
35.9%.

“The
slowdown
in
multifamily
construction
suggests
that
we
may
start
to
see
rents
increase
again,”
Sturtevant
said.
“Rents
had
begun
to
fall
in
some
markets
last
year,
as
record
numbers
of
new
apartments
hit
the
market.
But
apartment
construction
has
probably
peaked,
which
means
that
rents
could
be
on
the
rise
again
this
spring.”

The
rate
at
which
building
permits
were
issued
in
February
also
improved.
It
climbed
by
1.9%
month
over
month
to
a
seasonally
adjusted
annual
rate
of
1.518
million.
It
was
also
up
year
over
year
by
2.4%. 

Notably,
the
number
of
single-family
authorizations
was
up
1%
month
over
month
in
February
to
a
rate
of
1.031
million
units,
its
highest
level
since
May
2022.
Meanwhile,
multifamily
authorizations
also
improved
to
a
rate
of
429,000
units.

Housing
completions
also
drastically
improved
in
February
compared
to
January,
climbing
19.7%
to
1.729
million
units.
Single‐family
completions
rose
by
20.2%
between
January
and
February,
to
a
rate
of
1.072
million.
Meanwhile,
multifamily
completions
came
in
at
a
rate
of
644,000
in
February. 

On
a
regional
basis,
combined
single-family
and
multifamily
starts
were
10.3%
lower
in
the
Northeast
compared
to
January,
50.7%
higher
in
the
Midwest,
15.7%
higher
in
the
South
and
7.9%
lower
in
the
West.
Meanwhile,
permits
were
36.2%
higher
in
the
Northeast,
3.8%
higher
in
the
Midwest,
1.3%
lower
in
the
South
and
6.8%
lower
in
the
West.

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