WASHINGTON—Both the single-family housing starts and overall permit issuance reached their strongest pace since June of 2008, according to newly release figures from the HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau. This caused the nationwide housing production to edge up 0.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 917,000 units in February.
Gains were seen in both the single-family and multifamily sectors. Single-family housing gained 0.5 percent for a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 618,000 units in February, while multifamily starts rose 1.4 percent to 299,000 units. Overall permit issuance rose 4.6 percent to 946,000 units in February, including a 2.7 percent increase of single-family and an 8.1 percent increase of multifamily sector.
“Today’s report indicates that, despite some bumps in the road, overall housing production continues on the solid upward trend that we saw throughout 2012,” noted National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist David Crowe. “Moreover, further gains in permit issuance are a positive sign that home construction will continue to drive economic and job growth in the coming months.”
More information about this report and the NAHB can be found here.