Courtesy of Mish.
Housing starts bounced 6.6% from last month’s dismal plunge of 8.86%.
Last month Bloomberg Econoday cited “fundamental strength“. This month, Bloomberg curiously describes starts as “soft“.
Which is it?
Highlights
Housing starts and permits picked up in April but the pace is moderate. Starts rose 6.6 percent to a 1.172 million annualized rate but the year-on-year rate has sunk into the negative column, to minus 1.7 percent. Permits rose 3.6 percent in April to a 1.116 million rate but here too the year-on-year rate is negative, and more so at minus 7.2 percent.
The year-on-year weakness, however, reflects multi-family units which are now cooling following prior strength. Starts for single-family units, which are more expensive to build and offer a core gauge for the housing sector, rose 3.3 percent in April for a year-on-year plus 4.3 percent while single-family permits rose 1.5 percent for a plus 8.4 percent on-year rate.
Regionally, the Midwest is showing the most strength with gains for both starts and permits in the month and on the year. The South follows next in strength with the West lagging and the Northeast, which is already densely developed, far behind.
Momentum in housing looks a little soft this Spring though the sector, as underscored by the strength right now in single-family trends, is still a main positive for what is a modest economic outlook.
Housing Starts
Fundamental Strength or Fundamentally Soft?
Is there fundamental strength or are housing starts soft?
To help answer the question let’s take a look at what I said a month ago in Housing Starts Plunge 8.8%, Permits Plunge 7.7%; Bloomberg Cites “Fundamental Strength”.
