U.S. housing starts came in at 926 thousand units (annualized) in March, falling well short of market expectations for 1.040 million units. This represents only a 2.0% M/M gain relative to a disappointing 908k starts in February (upwardly-revised from 897k).
"This housing report dashed hopes of a sharp rebound from last month's steep drop in starts. Moreover, the subdued pace of starts cannot be pinned on lousy weather early in the month in the Northeast as starts there largely recovered." says TD Economics in its report
Both major segments saw a small rise. Multi-family starts rose 4k units to 308k, while single-family starts gained 26k units to 618k. Both multi-family and single family starts have backed off from their 2014 averages of 646k and 355k units.
Building permits fell 5.7% M/M to 1.039 million units in March, albeit from a relatively strong 1.102 million in February (upwardly-revised from1.092mn). This fell short of market expectations for 1.081mn.
"The fact that permits continue to significantly outpace housing starts suggests that there may be some backlog in construction, which will come online in the coming months." views TD Economics
Overall, a second consecutive disappointing month of housing starts corroborates the view of a weak first quarter for economic growth in America, and subdued momentum heading into the second.
