Housing Starts Halt Decline; February Increase Led By Sharp Jump In Multifamily Activity

摘要

Housing starts rebounded in February, ending a seven-month slide, due primarily to a sharp increase in multi-family activity.rnThe seasonally adjusted annual starts rate was 583,000 units, up 22.2 percent from the revised January rate of 477,000. The single-family rate edged up 1.1 percent, from 353,000 to 357,000, while the multifamily rate jumped 82.3 percent, from 124,000 to 226,000.rnHousing construction is still far off the year-earlier pace, however. The two-month starts total was 71,500 units, down from 149,200 for the same period in 2008. Single-family starts dropped from 100,500 to 47,000 units and multifamily starts, from 48,800 to 24,500.