New Residential Construction

1
New Residential Construction

• Published by Bureau of the Census
• Frequency monthly
• Period Covered prior month
• Volatility moderate
• Market significance moderate to high
• Web site www.census.gov

2
What is it?

• Tracks how many new single-family homes or
  buildings were constructed throughout the month.
• Most of the housing start data is collected
  through applications and permits for building
  homes. The housing start data is offered in an
  unadjusted and a seasonally adjusted format.
• Information on housing starts and building
  permits is collected on separate surveys.
• Starts and permits are classified by the number
  of units and by regions. The regions are
  northwest, south, midwest, and west.
• Unit categories include single-family and
  multifamily housing.

3
What is it in the report?

• Information about
• Building permits Privately owned housing units
  authorized by building permits
• Housing starts Privately owned housing starts
• Housing completions Privately owned housing
  completions.

4
Why is it important?

• Key release from the supply side, its importance
  rises around turning points in the business
  cycle.
• Permits is a leading indicator of economic
  activity.
• Housing is an important sector of the economy.
  Housing accounts for about 42 of a households
  budget.

5
Keys to Interpreting the Data

• Focus in the single-family sector, it dominates
  the residential housing market.
• Pay close attention to regional changes.
• Be aware of weather anomalies.
• Notice that housing starts and building permits
  present a cyclical behavior.

6
Latest Release

• BUILDING PERMITS
• Privately-owned housing units authorized by
  building permits in March were at a seasonally
  adjusted annual rate of 1,544,000. This is 0.8
  percent (1.0) above the revised February rate
  of 1,532,000, but is 25.9 percent (0.9) below
  the March 2006 estimate of 2,085,000.
• Single-family authorizations in March were at a
  rate of 1,114,000 this is 1.4 percent (0.9)
  above the February figure of 1,099,000.
  Authorizations of units in buildings with five
  units or more were at a rate of 358,000 in March.

7
Latest Release

• HOUSING STARTS
• Privately-owned housing starts in March were at a
  seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,518,000.
  This is 0.8 percent (11.3) above the revised
  February estimate of 1,506,000, but is 23.0
  percent (5.4) below the March 2006 rate of
  1,972,000.
• Single-family housing starts in March were at a
  rate of 1,218,000 this is 2.0 percent (10.5)
  above the February figure of 1,194,000. The March
  rate for units in buildings with five units or
  more was 262,000.

8
Latest Release

• HOUSING COMPLETIONS
• Privately-owned housing completions in March were
  at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of
  1,632,000. This is 0.7 percent (7.7) below the
  revised February estimate of 1,643,000 and is
  25.9 percent (5.2) below the March 2006 rate of
  2,203,000.
• Single-family housing completions in March were
  at a rate of 1,329,000 this is 1.5 percent
  (9.3) above the February figure of 1,309,000.
  The March rate for units in buildings with five
  units or more was 264,000.

9
Historical Data
10
Data Analysis

• Based on the information from this indicator, we
  conclude
• Housing market is clearly cooling off.
• We do not foresee inflationary pressures from the
  housing market.
• Since this is considered a leading economic
  indicators, we anticipate no improvement in
  economic performance in the near future.