Steel Markets
January 22, 2015
Housing Starts 3MMA Exceed 1 Million Units for 4th Month
Written by Peter Wright
Starts in December rose to an annual rate 1,089,000 from 1,043,000 in November. The three month moving average, (3MMA) rose to 1,075,000, (Figure 1). This was the fourth consecutive month that the 3MMA of starts exceeded a million units. The year / year growth rate of the 3MMA of total starts in December was 4.8 percent. The growth rate by this measure is down sharply from 16.7 percent in September. Note this is not seasonal as we are considering year over year relationships. Total starts are still on track to reach 1.6 million by the end of 2018.
