The US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced Tuesday that privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in February were at an annual rate of 717,000--5.1 percent above January's rate and a 34.3 percent jump from the 534,000 in February 2011. Single-family authorizations in February were at a rate of 472,000--4.9 percent higher than in January.
Meanwhile, privately-owned housing starts in February were at an annual rate of 698,000, reflecting a 1.1 percent drop from January but 34.7 percent higher than the February 2011 rate of 518,000. Single-family housing starts in February were at a rate of 457,000, 9.9 percent below the January level.
Privately-owned housing completions in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 568,000. This is 6.2 percent above the revised January estimate of 535,000, but is 7 percent below the February 2011 rate of 611,000. Single-family housing completions in February were at a rate of 421,000; this is 8.2 percent above the revised January rate of 389,000.