Courtesy of ZeroHedge View original post here.
As mortgage rates rise, homebuilder sentiment slips, and home sales weaken, analysts expected housing permits and starts to fall MoM in March but, thanks in part to downward revisions for Feb's data, Housing Starts surprised with a +0.3% MoM rise (vs -1.6% MoM exp) and Permits up 0.4% MoM (vs -2.4% MoM exp)…
Source: Bloomberg
Housing Starts pushed to their highest SAAR since 2006…
Source: Bloomberg
The big gains in permits and starts were driven by multi-family units as single-family unit.
Multi-family Starts soared as Single-family fell back (+7.5% SAAR and -.7% SAAR respectively)…
Source: Bloomberg
Similarly, Single-family permits fell as multi-family permits rose (-4.8% SAAR and +10.9% SAAR respectively)…
Source: Bloomberg
None of which will help the bleakness of inventories for single-family homeowners, and thus affordability.
