19-Mar-2025 08:01

New residential construction in the U.S. rebounded by much more than anticipated in the month of February, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday.

The Commerce Department said housing starts spiked by 11.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.501 million in February after plunging by 11.5 percent to a revised rate of 1.350 million in January.

The much bigger than expected rebound by housing starts reflected substantial increases by both single and multi-family housing starts.

Single family housing starts soared by 11.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.108 million, while multi-family housing starts shot up by 10.7 percent to an annual rate of 393,000.

Meanwhile, the report said building permits slumped by 1.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.456 million in February after falling by 0.6 percent to a revised rate of 1.473 million in January.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to tumble by 2.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.450 million from the 1.483 million originally reported for the previous month.

Multi-family permits led the way lower, plunging by 3.1 percent to an annual rate of 464,000, while single-family permits edged down by 0.2 percent to an annual rate of 992,000.

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