February U.S. housing starts rose 3 percent to a 1.288-million-unit seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to data from the Census Bureau and HUD, with all of the increase coming in single-family starts. Single-family starts jumped 6.5 percent to an 872,000 unit annual pace. The greater-than expected increase is likely due to milder weather across much of the country in February, reports Wells Fargo.
Single-family starts have remained above an 800,000-unit annual rate in each of the past five months, and the latest figure marks the fastest pace for single-family starts since before the Great Recession.