The US Census Bureau and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced that privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,285,000.
This is 4.6 percent (±2.0 percent) above the revised December rate of 1,228,000 and is 8.2 percent (±1.6 percent) above the January 2016 rate of 1,188,000. Single-family authorizations in January were at a rate of 808,000; this is 2.7 percent (±1.9 percent) below the revised December figure of 830,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 446,000 in January.
Privately-owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,246,000. This is 2.6 percent (±11.0 percent) below the revised December estimate of 1,279,000, but is 10.5 percent (±15.3 percent) above the January 2016 rate of 1,128,000. Single-family housing starts in January were at a rate of 823,000; this is 1.9 percent (±10.8 percent) above the revised December figure of 808,000. The January rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 421,000.
Privately-owned housing completions in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,047,000. This is 5.6 percent (±8.0 percent) below the revised December estimate of 1,109,000 and is 0.9 percent (±15.0 percent) below the January 2016 rate of 1,056,000. Single-family housing completions in January were at a rate of 800,000; this is 4.3 percent (±7.5 percent) above the revised December rate of 767,000. The January rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 244,000.