HOUSING STARTS AND BUILDING PERMITS IN JANUARY 1995 PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING STARTS Privately owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,377,000, according to estimates reported today by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of the Census. This is 10 (+/-6) percent below the revised December rate of 1,527,000, but 9 (+/-7) percent above the revised January 1994 figure of 1,266,000. Single-family housing starts in January 1995 were at a rate of 1,072,000; this is 12 (+/-6) percent below the December figure of 1,223,000. The January rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 267,000. The January rate for units in buildings with two to four units was 38,000. BUILDING PERMITS (19,000 permit-issuing places) The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing units authorized by building permits in January was 1,299,000; this is 9 (+/-2) percent below the December rate of 1,421,000 and 7 (+/-2) percent below the January 1994 rate of 1,392,000. Single-family authorizations in January 1995 were at a rate of 993,000; this is 9 (+/-1) percent below the December figure of 1,094,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 235,000; this is 9 percent below the December rate of 259,000. The January rate of permit-authorized units in buildings with two to four units was 71,000. MOBILE HOME SHIPMENTS Statistics on mobile home shipments, which lag by 1 month, appear in the Current Construction Reports, series C20. In December, manufacturers' shipments of mobile homes were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 347,000; this is 8 percent above the revised November figure of 322,000. The revised December 1993 rate was 292,000. Before seasonal adjustment, total shipments in December 1994 were 23,500. The next press release is scheduled to be issued on Thursday, March 16, 1995, at 8:30 A.M. EST. EXPLANATORY NOTES In interpreting changes in the statistics in this release, note that month-to-month changes in seasonally adjusted statistics often show movements which may be irregular. It may take 3 months to establish an underlying trend for total starts, mobile home shipments and building permit authorizations. Except for those on mobile home shipments, the statistics in this release are estimated from sample surveys and are subject to sampling variability as well as errors of response and nonreporting. Estimated average relative standard errors of preliminary data are shown in the tables. Whenever a statement such as "2 (+/-3) percent above" appears in the text, this indicates the range (-1 to +5 percent) in which the actual percent change is likely to have occurred. All ranges given for percent changes are 90-percent confidence intervals. If a range contains zero, it is uncertain whether there was an increase or decrease; that is, the change is not statistically significant. For any comparison cited without a confidence interval, the change is statistically significant. The January 1995 Current Construction Reports, C20/95-1, will include explanations of confidence intervals and sampling variability. On average, the preliminary seasonally adjusted estimates of total housing starts and building permits are revised about +/-1 percent. Statistics on mobile home shipments are compiled from manufacturers' reports to the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards (NCSBCS). REVISED SEASONALLY ADJUSTED HOUSING STARTS AND MOBILE HOME SHIPMENTS DATA Seasonally adjusted data are revised annually using the latest available information. The seasonally adjusted estimates of housing starts and mobile home shipments shown in this release have been revised. Revised monthly data for 1992, 1993, and 1994 will appear in the January Current Construction Reports, C20/95-1. UPDATED BUILDING PERMIT UNIVERSE (19,000 permit-issuing places) Beginning this month, the statistics on building permit authorizations are for 19,000 permit-issuing places rather than those previously published for 17,000 places. The 2,000 additional places were identified as permit- issuing since June 1983. Data for the 19,000 place series are available for 1994 and are shown in the tables. REVISED DATA FOR OLD BUILDING PERMIT UNIVERSE (17,000 permit-issuing places) Revised annual totals for 1994 based on a new 17,000 place sample are shown in the tables. Revised monthly data for 1994 will appear in the January Current Construction Reports, C20/95-1 and C40/95-1. Final 1994 data will be published in the April reports. Questions regarding these data may be directed to David Fondelier, Chief, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301) 457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: JANUARY 1995 In structures with - 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1992(r) January 1,176 969 31 176 February 1,250 1,102 25 123 March 1,297 1,037 44 216 April 1,099 945 29 125 May 1,214 1,038 32 144 June 1,145 999 39 107 July 1,139 984 26 129 August 1,226 1,037 32 157 September 1,186 1,024 27 135 October 1,244 1,093 20 131 November 1,214 1,078 24 112 December 1,227 1,075 35 117 1993(r) January 1,213 1,087 28 98 February 1,198 1,052 23 123 March 1,068 939 28 101 April 1,232 1,087 26 119 May 1,245 1,112 25 108 June 1,257 1,072 33 152 July 1,253 1,078 54 121 August 1,318 1,182 17 119 September 1,352 1,152 32 168 October 1,417 1,236 35 146 November 1,401 1,245 28 128 December 1,602 1,376 23 203 1994(r) January 1,266 1,122 23 121 February 1,318 1,112 32 174 March 1,499 1,259 30 210 April 1,463 1,209 31 223 May 1,489 1,197 36 256 June 1,370 1,174 18 178 July 1,440 1,219 32 189 August 1,463 1,174 40 249 September 1,511 1,235 42 234 October 1,451 1,164 39 248 November 1,536 1,186 62 288 December 1,527 1,223 36 268 1995 - JANUARY(p) 1,377 1,072 38 267 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 10 8 Not seasonally adjusted 1993 1,287.6 1,125.7 11.1 18.3 132.6 1994(r) 1,455.3 1,196.8 14.8 20.4 223.3 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 13 6 1 1994 - January 76.2 67.2 0.7 0.7 7.6 February 83.5 70.8 0.9 0.9 10.9 March 134.3 114.6 1.1 1.9 16.7 April 137.6 114.3 1.1 2.1 20.2 May 148.8 122.3 1.6 1.5 23.4 June 136.4 117.6 0.7 1.2 17.0 July 127.8 110.4 1.1 1.6 14.7 August 139.8 110.1 1.9 2.4 25.3 September 130.1 105.2 1.4 2.0 21.5 October 130.6 101.3 1.4 1.6 26.3 November(r) 113.4 87.8 2.5 2.5 20.7 December(r) 96.8 75.1 0.4 2.1 19.1 1995 - JANUARY(p) 81.5 62.8 0.6 1.6 16.5 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 15 13 8 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to David Fondelier, Chief, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301) 457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY REGION: JANUARY 1995 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1992(r) January 1,176 151 291 454 280 February 1,250 140 317 497 296 March 1,297 137 328 528 304 April 1,099 123 237 476 263 May 1,214 124 299 501 290 June 1,145 115 276 462 292 July 1,139 123 270 472 274 August 1,226 111 325 478 312 September 1,186 125 265 522 274 October 1,244 129 307 519 289 November 1,214 113 267 519 315 December 1,227 155 277 531 264 1993(r) January 1,213 126 300 561 226 February 1,198 125 287 526 260 March 1,068 97 240 451 280 April 1,232 114 251 555 312 May 1,245 117 291 546 291 June 1,257 125 283 537 312 July 1,253 130 282 568 273 August 1,318 125 301 569 323 September 1,352 149 316 567 320 October 1,417 131 368 595 323 November 1,401 132 317 625 327 December 1,602 151 358 721 372 1994(r) January 1,266 89 251 554 372 February 1,318 131 260 592 335 March 1,499 137 349 641 372 April 1,463 150 355 615 343 May 1,489 135 323 684 347 June 1,370 137 306 602 325 July 1,440 131 340 600 369 August 1,463 148 319 681 315 September 1,511 136 337 659 379 October 1,451 130 313 648 360 November 1,536 159 380 661 336 December 1,527 137 342 695 353 1995 - JANUARY(p) 1,377 114 302 635 326 AVG. RSE(%) 3 7 5 4 5 Not seasonally adjusted 1993 1,287.6 126.5 297.7 561.8 301.7 1994(r) 1,455.3 137.5 328.7 638.2 350.9 AVG. RSE (%) 1 2 2 2 2 1994 - January 76.2 4.9 10.7 37.5 23.1 February 83.5 5.8 12.3 43.3 22.1 March 134.3 9.5 28.5 61.4 34.9 April 137.6 14.0 34.6 58.1 30.9 May 148.8 13.5 35.6 66.7 33.0 June 136.4 15.1 34.1 55.6 31.6 July 127.8 12.3 31.3 50.5 33.7 August 139.8 14.9 32.3 61.1 31.4 September 130.1 11.9 30.6 55.1 32.4 October 130.6 12.2 32.0 55.9 30.5 November(r) 113.4 14.3 28.3 47.5 23.3 December(r) 96.8 8.9 18.3 45.6 23.9 1995 - JANUARY(p) 81.5 6.2 12.1 42.3 20.8 AVG. RSE (%) 3 7 5 4 5 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the s period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to David Fondelier, Chief, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301) 457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: JANUARY 1995 In structures with - 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted annual rate (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994 - January 1,392 1,133 60 199 February 1,279 1,067 52 160 March 1,331 1,073 60 198 April 1,377 1,068 63 246 May 1,383 1,099 68 216 June 1,336 1,054 60 222 July 1,347 1,035 63 249 August 1,382 1,047 61 274 September 1,416 1,052 63 301 October 1,391 1,028 67 296 November 1,355 1,011 69 275 December 1,421 1,094 68 259 1995 - JANUARY(p) 1,299 993 71 235 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 4 2 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1993(1) 1,199.1 986.5 26.7 25.6 160.2 1994(r)(1) 1,332.3 1,027.7 29.6 31.5 243.5 1994 1,374.6 1,066.6 30.8 32.0 245.3 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 2 3 1 1994 - January 80.6 64.1 1.8 1.5 13.2 February 81.9 69.7 1.5 1.9 8.8 March 126.3 104.1 2.8 2.5 16.9 April 128.0 102.2 2.9 2.8 20.1 May 132.0 107.2 2.9 3.3 18.5 June 137.0 108.3 2.9 3.2 22.5 July 115.0 89.8 2.3 2.7 20.2 August 130.8 99.0 2.8 3.1 25.8 September 126.1 90.5 2.7 2.8 30.1 October 116.1 84.4 2.8 3.1 25.7 November 100.4 73.7 3.0 2.6 21.2 December 94.5 68.3 2.1 2.5 21.6 1995 - JANUARY(p) 78.9 58.5 2.0 2.1 16.3 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 6 6 2 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994 - January(1) 121.2 71.6 4.4 45.2 November(r)(1) 116.8 66.3 3.6 46.8 December(r)(1) 116.6 67.2 3.5 45.9 1995 - JANUARY(p) 114.0 65.5 4.1 44.5 AVG. RSE(%) 4 4 13 5 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (X) Not applicable. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. (1) In 17,000 permit-issuing places. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to David Fondelier, Chief, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301) 457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY REGION: JANUARY 1995 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994 - January 1,392 106 302 611 373 February 1,279 106 281 558 334 March 1,331 124 300 579 328 April 1,377 136 300 597 344 May 1,383 137 303 593 350 June 1,336 140 290 564 342 July 1,347 160 297 575 315 August 1,382 138 311 589 344 September 1,416 131 294 611 380 October 1,391 127 327 587 350 November 1,355 133 306 597 319 December 1,421 158 340 617 306 1995 - JANUARY(p) 1,299 129 291 575 304 AVG. RSE(%) 1 3 2 2 2 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1993(1) 1,199.1 133.5 276.6 500.7 288.2 1994(r)(1) 1,332.3 130.9 301.7 560.9 338.8 1994 1,374.6 136.6 305.7 591.1 341.1 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 1 1 1 1994 - January 80.6 5.1 12.2 41.3 21.9 February 81.9 5.4 13.8 40.7 22.0 March 126.3 10.4 27.1 57.0 31.7 April 128.0 12.5 29.5 54.8 31.2 May 132.0 13.7 32.1 54.1 32.1 June 137.0 15.0 30.4 54.9 36.6 July 115.0 14.5 26.7 46.7 27.0 August 130.8 13.7 31.4 53.7 32.0 September 126.1 11.8 28.0 53.8 32.5 October 116.1 11.5 30.2 45.7 28.8 November 100.4 11.0 23.2 43.3 23.0 December 94.5 10.2 19.9 42.8 21.6 1995 - JANUARY(p) 78.9 6.5 12.4 41.1 18.8 AVG. RSE(%) 1 3 2 2 2 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994 - January(1) 121.2 21.7 16.6 60.9 21.9 November(r)(1) 116.8 17.1 12.6 58.6 28.5 December(r)(1) 116.6 17.5 13.1 58.8 27.2 1995 - JANUARY(p) 114.0 16.8 12.6 59.0 25.7 AVG. RSE(%) 4 11 11 5 5 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (X) Not applicable. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. (1) In 17,000 permit-issuing places. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to David Fondelier, Chief, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301) 457-4703.