HOUSING STARTS AND BUILDING PERMITS IN MARCH 1997 PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING STARTS Privately owned housing starts in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,425,000, according to estimates reported today by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of the Census. This is 6 (+/-6) percent below the revised February rate of 1,522,000, but virtually the same (+/-6 percent) as the March 1996 rate of 1,429,000. Single-family housing starts in March 1997 were at a rate of 1,117,000; this is 8 (+/-5) percent below the February figure of 1,218,000. The March rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 273,000. The March rate for units in buildings with two to four units was 35,000. During the first 3 months of this year, 290,100 housing units were started compared with 302,600 units for the same period in 1996. This is a decrease of 4 (+/-3) percent. BUILDING PERMITS The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing units authorized by building permits in March was 1,423,000; this is 1 (+/-1) percent below the revised February rate of 1,444,000, but the same (+/-2 percent) as the March 1996 figure. Single-family authorizations in March 1997 were at a rate of 1,015,000; this is 6 (+/-1) percent below the February figure of 1,077,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 338,000 in March; this is 13 (+/-8) percent above the February rate of 299,000. The March rate of permit-authorized units in buildings with two to four units was 70,000. During the first 3 months of this year, 299,200 housing units were authorized by building permits compared with 302,100 units for the same period in 1996. This is a decrease of 1 (+/-1) percent. MOBILE HOME SHIPMENTS Statistics on mobile home shipments, which lag by 1 month, appear in the Current Construction Reports, series C20. In February, manufacturers' shipments of mobile homes were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 355,000, 5 percent above the January figure of 339,000. The February 1996 rate was 346,000. Before seasonal adjustment, total shipments in February 1997 were 26,300. The next press release is scheduled to be issued on Friday, May 16, 1997, at 8:30 A.M. EDT. 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 4 months to establish an underlying trend for total starts, 3 months for building permit authorizations, and 2 months for mobile home shipments. 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 nonsampling error including bias and variance from response, nonreporting, and undercoverage. 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 and account only for sampling variability. 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 1997 Current Construction Reports, C20/97-1, includes 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). Questions regarding these data may be the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: MARCH 1997 In structures with - 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1996 - March 1,429 1,156 24 249 April 1,522 1,215 55 252 May 1,476 1,142 48 286 June 1,488 1,214 46 228 July 1,492 1,164 44 284 August 1,515 1,222 37 256 September 1,470 1,148 45 277 October 1,407 1,104 58 245 November 1,486 1,133 60 293 December 1,353 1,024 48 281 1997 - January(r) 1,375 1,125 43 207 February(r) 1,522 1,218 40 264 MARCH(p) 1,425 1,117 35 273 AVG. RSE(%) 3 2 12 11 Not seasonally adjusted 1995 1,354.1 1,076.2 14.3 19.4 244.1 1996 1,476.8 1,160.9 16.4 28.8 270.8 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 7 8 2 1996 First 3 months 302.6 240.0 2.2 3.0 57.4 1997 First 3 months 290.1 233.6 2.6 4.3 49.5 AVG. RSE(%) 2 2 11 9 4 1996 - March 116.0 96.9 1.0 1.0 17.1 April 146.6 117.9 2.0 3.4 23.3 May 143.9 111.6 1.6 3.0 27.7 June 138.0 115.0 1.6 3.3 18.2 July 137.5 109.1 1.2 3.1 24.2 August 144.2 115.6 1.2 2.0 25.4 September 128.7 99.3 1.9 1.9 25.6 October 130.8 101.0 2.1 2.9 24.8 November 111.5 82.6 1.6 4.3 23.0 December 93.1 68.8 1.1 1.9 21.3 1997 - January(r) 82.2 66.6 0.6 1.5 13.5 February(r) 92.8 73.9 1.3 1.0 16.6 MARCH(p) 115.1 93.2 0.7 1.8 19.4 AVG. RSE(%) 3 2 10 19 11 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: $21.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY REGION: MARCH 1997 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1996 - March 1,429 139 322 631 337 April 1,522 138 325 665 394 May 1,476 128 322 680 346 June 1,488 126 300 686 376 July 1,492 129 355 670 338 August 1,515 131 337 671 376 September 1,470 140 309 682 339 October 1,407 138 287 617 365 November 1,486 128 330 672 356 December 1,353 139 300 641 273 1997 - January(r) 1,375 182 260 589 344 February(r) 1,522 131 366 666 359 MARCH(p) 1,425 146 292 619 368 AVG. RSE(%) 3 6 7 5 5 Not seasonally adjusted 1995 1,354.1 117.7 290.1 615.0 331.3 1996 1,476.8 132.1 321.5 661.9 361.4 AVG. RSE (%) 1 1 2 2 1 1996 First 3 months 302.6 21.1 52.5 145.3 83.7 1997 First 3 months 290.1 25.2 47.9 139.1 78.0 AVG. RSE (%) 2 3 4 3 2 1996 - March 116.0 10.0 24.0 54.5 27.4 April 146.6 13.1 31.8 64.3 37.3 May 143.9 12.6 33.6 65.2 32.5 June 138.0 13.4 30.9 58.6 35.1 July 137.5 12.3 34.9 59.2 31.1 August 144.2 12.9 35.3 59.2 36.7 September 128.7 13.0 28.6 57.6 29.5 October 130.8 13.9 29.8 54.0 33.0 November 111.5 10.1 26.6 51.0 23.9 December 93.1 9.7 17.4 47.4 18.6 1997 - January(r) 82.2 8.5 10.5 39.8 23.3 February(r) 92.8 5.9 15.8 46.7 24.4 MARCH(p) 115.1 10.7 21.5 52.6 30.3 AVG. RSE (%) 3 6 7 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 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: $21.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: MARCH 1997 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) 1996 - March 1,423 1,097 61 265 April 1,459 1,115 75 269 May 1,452 1,098 62 292 June 1,415 1,085 62 268 July 1,457 1,073 68 316 August 1,423 1,078 60 285 September 1,399 1,040 73 286 October 1,362 1,011 69 282 November 1,418 1,025 67 326 December 1,422 1,015 64 343 1997 - January 1,400 1,051 61 288 February(r) 1,444 1,077 68 299 MARCH(p) 1,423 1,015 70 338 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 3 2 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 1,332.5 997.3 32.2 31.5 271.5 1996 1,433.7 1,073.3 33.2 32.9 294.2 AVG. RSE(%) (Z) 1 2 3 1 1996 First 3 months 302.1 234.3 6.8 6.0 55.0 1997 First 3 months 299.2 223.4 7.4 6.5 61.9 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 4 3 2 1996 - March 119.9 95.1 2.6 2.4 19.6 April 139.4 109.4 3.7 3.4 23.0 May 140.5 109.7 3.0 2.9 24.9 June 130.6 100.7 2.9 3.0 24.0 July 135.7 101.4 3.0 2.9 28.4 August 129.8 98.4 2.9 2.5 26.0 September 121.0 86.0 3.1 3.1 28.8 October 126.0 91.8 3.2 3.9 27.2 November 101.7 71.6 2.6 2.7 24.8 December 99.9 66.3 2.0 2.1 29.6 1997 - January 88.9 66.0 2.0 1.7 19.2 February(r) 92.8 70.2 2.3 2.0 18.3 MARCH(p) 117.6 87.2 3.0 2.8 24.6 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 4 5 2 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1996 - March 147.6 89.9 6.3 51.4 1997 - January(r) 131.8 70.7 4.1 56.9 February(r) 131.4 69.9 4.2 57.3 MARCH(p) 137.0 71.7 5.2 60.1 AVG. RSE(%) 4 3 10 7 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. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $21.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY REGION: MARCH 1997 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1996 - March 1,423 137 329 591 366 April 1,459 135 342 634 348 May 1,452 137 304 668 343 June 1,415 134 302 634 345 July 1,457 136 338 625 358 August 1,423 147 317 629 330 September 1,399 138 306 604 351 October 1,362 138 298 587 339 November 1,418 135 313 641 329 December 1,422 146 313 642 321 1997 - January 1,400 147 299 600 354 February(r) 1,444 162 316 611 355 MARCH(p) 1,423 145 309 637 332 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 2 1 1 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 1,332.5 124.2 296.6 583.2 328.5 1996 1,433.7 138.5 318.9 626.5 349.9 AVG. RSE(%) (Z) 1 1 1 1 1996 First 3 months 302.1 21.9 57.0 141.9 81.4 1997 First 3 months 299.2 27.3 53.6 143.4 74.9 AVG. RSE(%) 1 3 2 1 1 1996 - March 119.9 10.5 26.4 51.6 31.3 April 139.4 12.9 34.0 60.3 32.2 May 140.5 14.3 32.2 62.1 31.9 June 130.6 13.1 28.7 55.0 33.8 July 135.7 13.5 33.5 54.7 34.0 August 129.8 14.0 30.9 55.2 29.7 September 121.0 11.9 27.9 52.0 29.3 October 126.0 13.8 31.1 50.8 30.3 November 101.7 10.8 23.3 45.3 22.3 December 99.9 9.8 19.1 47.3 23.8 1997 - January 88.9 8.2 13.4 44.1 23.1 February(r) 92.8 8.1 15.9 44.5 24.3 MARCH(p) 117.6 10.6 24.5 54.9 27.7 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 2 1 1 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1996 - March 147.6 17.3 23.0 75.9 31.3 1997 - January(r) 131.8 14.8 19.4 71.5 26.1 February(r) 131.4 16.2 17.9 71.0 26.2 MARCH(p) 137.0 15.9 22.0 75.0 24.2 AVG. RSE(%) 4 8 10 6 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. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $21.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703.