by Year-over-year increases occur in building permits, housing starts and completions, signaling movement that could boost furniture sales in the weeks and months ahead
WASHINGTON — February housing construction activity — including building permits, housing starts and housing completions — increased over last year, signaling a rebound in the availability of newly built units that could continue into the spring and summer months.
Building permits in February totaled 1,518,000, which was 2.4% above the rate of 1,482,000 issued in February 2023 and 1.9% above a revised January rate of 1,489,000. Housing starts totaled 1,521,000, up 5.9% from 1,436,000 in February 2023 and 10.7 above a revised January estimate of 1,374,000.
The number of units completed in February totaled 1,729,000, up 9.6% from the 1,436,000 completed in February last year and up 19.7% from the revised January estimate of 1,445,000.
The number of single-family building permits issued totaled 1,031,000, up 1% from January, while the number of single-family housing starts totaled 1,129,000, up 11.6% from a revised January total of 1,012,000. The number of single-family units completed totaled 1,072,000, up 20.2% above a revised January rate of 892,000.
The increases signal a shift in the market that hasn’t been seen in recent months with increases across all major sectors of building activity. However, the rate at which people move into these homes will also depend on their ability to sell and move from their existing homes.
Many have been reluctant to trade up to a new home as it means financing their purchase with a higher interest rate than they have with their current home. Thus, the shift into new homes could be precipitated by either first-time home buyers or those that are willing to accept a higher rate with the ability to refinance in the future.
By region, the activity in February was as follows:
In the Northeast, there were 203,000 building permits issued for residential properties in February, up 79.6% from the 113,000 issued in February 2023 and up 36.2% from the 149,000 issued in January. There were 122,000 units started, up 16.2% from the 105,000 started in February 2023 and down 10.3% from the 136,000 started in January. There were 132,000 units completed in the region, up .8% from the 131,000 completed in February 2023 and up 37.5% from the 96,000 completed in January.
In the Midwest, there were 216,000 building permits issued for residential properties, up 14.9% from the 188,000 issued in February 2023 and up 3.8% from the 208,000 issued in January. There were 202,000 units started in February, up 8% from the 187,000 started in February 2023 and up 50.7% from the 134,000 issued in January. There were 289,000 units completed in the region, up 41% from the 205,000 completed in February 2023 and up 59.7% from the 181,000 completed in January.
In the South, there were 783,000 permits issued for residential properties, down 5.1% from the 825,000 issued in February 2023 and down 1.3% from the 793,000 issued in January. There were 883,000 units started, up 11.5% from the 792,000 units started in February 2023 and up 15.7% from the 763,000 started in January. There were 968,000 units completed in the region, up 9.9% from the 881,000 completed in February 2023 and up 20.1% from the 806,000 completed in January.
In the West, there were 316,000 building permits issued, down 6.8% from the 356,000 issued in February 2023 and down 11.2% from the 339,000 issued in January. There were 314,000 units started in the region, down 10.8% from the 352,000 units started in February 2023 and down 7.9% from the 341,000 started in January. There were 340,000 residential units completed in February, down 5.6% from the 360,000 completed in February 2023 and down 6.1% from the 362,000 completed in January.
