The Week Ahead: Improved Housing Starts and Permits?

The U.S. Census Bureau will release its latest stats on housing starts and permits on Wednesday. 

Also, on this week's installments of DS5: Inside the Industry, we'll be speaking to:

• Robert Senko, President, ACC Mortgage (Tuesday)
• Sharron Levine, Director, Office of Minority & Women Inclusion, FHFA (Tuesday)
• Suzy Lindblom, COO, Planet Home Lending (Thursday)
• Christopher Whalen, Investment Banker, Author, The Institutional Risk Analyst (Thursday)

In its release on February data, the Bureau revealed that housing permits dropped 5.5% in February to 1.46 million from the prior month and housing starts fell 1.5% month-to-month. 

The Census states that housing starts are still 13.8% above the February 20109 rate of 1.28 million. Housing starts are 39.2% above last year’s rate of 1.14 million. 

Housing completions fell slightly from the prior, as the Census reported a 0.2% drop in February to 1.316 million. Completions are up 1.2% from the February 2019 rate of 1.33 million. 

First American’s Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi said the year-over-year gains are “in our rearview mirror” as the impact of COVID-19 on consumer confidence and future home building remains to be seen. 

“The most recent homebuilder confidence report, while still upbeat, is beginning to indicate early signs of Coronavirus-driven headwinds to the construction industry, particularly concerns around supply-side disruptions and future demand,” she said. 

Kushi added, “The fundamentals, which drive new home sales remain—near record-low mortgage rates, a limited supply of existing homes for sale, and sturdy demand driven by millennials—a generation that is aging into the key lifestyle decisions which drive homeownership demand.”

Realtor.com’s Senior Economist George Ratiu said the most recent construction data does not account for the “dramatic shift” in the nation since the spread of the virus, remote work policies, travel, event cancellations, and monetary response.