Steel Markets
March 17, 2021
Housing Starts and Permit Authorizations Tumble in February
Written by Sandy Williams
Housing starts tumbled to a six-month low in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.421 million, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. Starts were 10.3% below January’s rate and down 9.3% from February 2020. Part of the decline was due to the unusual winter weather across Texas and the South that stalled construction and supply chains.
Single-family home starts dropped 8.5% from January to February to a SAAR of 1.04 million. Multifamily housing of five units or more plunged 14.6% month-over-month. Despite falling numbers for February, single-family starts are trending upward from a year ago.
