Housing starts fell 10.3% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.421 million units—the lowest level since August 2020, according to www.cnbc.com. The rate was lower than economists’ expectations of 1.560 million units.
Applications for building permits, a good indication of future activity, fell 10.8% to 1.682 million units in February but are up 17% compared with February 2020.
Single-family starts fell 8.5% to 1.04 million units, and multifamily starts fell 11% to 372,000 units.
Despite strong buyer traffic, a March 16 survey showed confidence among single-family homebuilders slipped in March because of concerns regarding rising material costs and delivery times, especially for softwood lumber.
The housing starts drop in February came as severe winter weather hit much of the U.S.; a rebound in starts is expected during the April-June period.
