US housing starts rise 11.2% in February

By Tuba Ongun

US housing starts increased 11.2% month-on-month in February, according to data released Tuesday.

Housing starts, which measure the change in the number of new residential buildings beginning construction, rose to 1.501 million, according to the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The market expectation for the figure was 1.380 million.

The January figure was revised downward from 1.366 million to 1.350 million, changing the reported decline from 9.8% to 11.5%.

On an annual basis, housing starts in February decreased by 2.9% compared to the same month last year.

Building permits, a key indicator of market demand, fell 1.2% from the previous month, totaling 1.456 million in February.

Despite the decline, the figure exceeded market expectations of 1.45 million.

Building permits in February were down 6.8% from the same month in 2024, when they totaled 1.563 million.