Steel Markets
January 26, 2016
Housing Starts, Permits and Builder Confidence
Written by Peter Wright
Total housing starts in December were at an annual rate of 1,149,000 which was down from 1,179,000 in November. Since April total monthly starts annualized have ranged from 1,062,000 to 1,211,000 with the high month being June.
In December the three month moving average (3MMA) was 1,133,000 which was down from 1,153,000 in November. August at 1,160,000 had the highest 3MMA since the recession. Total starts are still on track to reach 1.4 million units annualized by the end of 2018 (Figure 1).
