Housing Starts: Single Family gains continue, back to '07 levels

Bottom Line: Housing starts rebounded sharply with single family start reaching post-crisis highs. The three month average for total starts is now 1152k, back to the 6-month average of 1152k. Multifamily starts rose after sharp declnes in January. Building permits declined 3.1%, one point of potential weakness in the report. Single-family permits rose slightly while multi-family permits fell moderately. Overall, the progress in the housing market has been improving over the past 12 months as starts are rising moderately. Housing Starts ROSE by 5.2% in February to 1178k, compared with market expectations for an increase to 1150k. Meanwhile, the prior month was revised modestly higher from 1,099k to 1,120k. Housing starts have been slowly climbing, since reaching their cyclical nadir in April 2009 and are now 30.9% ABOVE their year ago level. However, they are still a sharp 48.2% BELOW their January 2006 peak. Single Family Housing Starts ROSE by 7.2% to 822k, the highest level since December '07. Single family housing starts are now 37.0% ABOVE their year ago level but still a stunning 54.9% BELOW their January 2006 peak. Multifamily Housing Starts ROSE by 0.8% to 356k, rebounding from slower gains in January. Multifamily starts have been on a moderately improving trend, amid substantial volatility, over the past 2 years and are now 18.7% ABOVE their year ago level. Housing starts were mixed across regions. Housing starts in the West saw sharp gains, up 26.1% and are now 15.9% above their 12-month average. Starts in Northeast saw sharp declines, down 51.3% and are still 48.5% below their 12-month average.