After an unexpected plunge in January, February Housing Starts were expected to bounce back modestly (while building permits were expected to slow further) as the impact of storms fades.
The analysts were right in direction but off in magnitude as, despite a slump in homebuilder sentiment, housing starts exploded 11.2% higher MoM (after dropping 11.5% MoM in January), well above all all estimates. Building Permits fell 1.2% MoM (just shy of the 1.4% decline MoM expected)…
Source: Bloomberg
That is the third month in a row of permits declining…
Source: Bloomberg
Both single-family and multi-unit building permits declined while single-family and multi-unit starts soared…
Source: Bloomberg
So, the forward-looking aspect of the residential construction data is not pretty… despite mortgage rates tumbling.
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