For release 10:00 A.M., EST, Friday, April 3, 1998 CB98-50 HOUSING UNITS COMPLETED IN FEBRUARY 1998 AT AN ANNUAL RATE OF 1,457,000 Privately owned housing completions in February 1998 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,457,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of the Census and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 12 (+/-7) percent above the revised January rate of 1,296,000, but 7 (+/-7) percent below the February 1997 estimate of 1,570,000. The February 1998 rate of single-family housing completions was 1,143,000. This is 14 (+/-8) percent above the revised January rate of 1,000,000. The rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 274,000, and the rate for units in buildings with two to four units was 40,000. At the end of February 1998, the seasonally adjusted estimate of housing units under construction was 908,000. This is 2 (+/-1) percent above the revised January figure of 887,000. Of these, 607,000 units were single-family structures, 266,000 were in buildings with five units or more, and 35,000 were in buildings with two to four units. The next press release is scheduled to be issued on Tuesday, May 5, 1998, at 10:00 A.M. EDT. EXPLANATORY NOTES In interpreting changes in the seasonally adjusted rate of housing completions, note that month-to-month changes often show movements which may be irregular. It may take 4 months to establish an underlying trend for total completions. 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 1998 issue of Current Construction Reports, C22/98-1, includes explanations of confidence intervals and sampling variability. On average, the preliminary seasonally adjusted estimate of total housing completions is revised about +/-1 percent. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS COMPLETED BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: FEBRUARY 1998 In structures with -- 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1997 - February 1,570 1,266 48 256 March 1,460 1,153 42 265 April 1,457 1,155 49 253 May 1,387 1,098 38 251 June 1,307 1,097 34 176 July 1,331 1,074 36 221 August 1,335 1,062 34 239 September 1,433 1,133 41 259 October 1,384 1,063 42 279 November 1,432 1,145 22 265 December(r) 1,413 1,094 40 279 1998 - January(r) 1,296 1,000 27 269 FEBRUARY(p) 1,457 1,143 40 274 AVG. RSE (%) 3 3 16 9 Not seasonally adjusted 1996 1,412.9 1,128.5 13.6 19.5 251.3 1997(r) 1,400.5 1,116.4 13.6 23.4 247.1 AVG. RSE (%) 1 1 8 7 3 1997 First 2 months 200.5 163.7 1.4 3.2 32.2 1998 First 2 months 189.2 149.0 1.8 2.9 35.5 AVG. RSE (%) 2 2 14 15 6 1997 - February 104.8 84.8 1.1 2.3 16.7 March 109.6 87.4 1.2 2.4 18.6 April 110.8 86.8 1.4 2.7 19.8 May 113.6 90.1 1.3 1.7 20.4 June 113.8 94.2 1.1 1.5 17.0 July 112.8 89.2 0.8 2.3 20.5 August 121.2 94.3 1.5 1.6 23.8 September 129.3 103.5 1.0 2.7 22.1 October 128.8 100.3 1.1 2.2 25.2 November 123.4 100.6 1.2 0.9 20.7 December(r) 136.5 106.2 1.4 2.2 26.8 1998 - January(r) 90.3 70.8 0.7 1.0 17.8 FEBRUARY(p) 98.9 78.2 1.1 1.8 17.8 AVG. RSE (%) 3 3 20 21 9 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. AVG. RSE (%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last 2 years. Year to date - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest 6-month period (January-June or July-December). NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS COMPLETED BY LOCATION: FEBRUARY 1998 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1997 - February 1,570 151 333 723 363 March 1,460 208 284 635 333 April 1,457 126 305 680 346 May 1,387 151 284 603 349 June 1,307 125 277 577 328 July 1,331 131 291 589 320 August 1,335 122 297 587 329 September 1,433 140 308 672 313 October 1,384 118 296 632 338 November 1,432 126 289 669 348 December(r) 1,413 119 291 665 338 1998 - January(r) 1,296 133 261 578 324 FEBRUARY(p) 1,457 122 321 679 335 AVG. RSE (%) 3 11 7 4 6 Not seasonally adjusted 1996 1,412.9 125.1 304.5 637.1 346.2 1997(r) 1,400.5 134.0 295.9 634.1 336.4 AVG. RSE (%) 1 3 3 2 1 1997 First 2 months 200.5 19.0 41.7 90.6 49.1 1998 First 2 months 189.2 18.2 37.8 87.4 45.8 AVG. RSE (%) 2 7 6 3 3 1997 - February 104.8 10.5 20.5 49.0 24.7 March 109.6 13.4 19.0 51.9 25.4 April 110.8 8.6 23.1 52.8 26.2 May 113.6 12.7 22.8 49.0 29.0 June 113.8 10.7 24.5 50.4 28.3 July 112.8 11.3 24.3 49.7 27.5 August 121.2 10.2 28.7 52.6 29.8 September 129.3 13.1 28.4 60.7 27.1 October 128.8 11.4 29.2 57.3 30.9 November 123.4 11.4 27.3 55.0 29.7 December(r) 136.5 12.1 26.9 64.0 33.5 1998 - January(r) 90.3 9.6 17.2 40.7 22.8 FEBRUARY(p) 98.9 8.6 20.6 46.7 23.1 AVG. RSE (%) 3 11 7 4 6 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. AVG. RSE (%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last 2 years. Year to date - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest 6-month period (January-June or July-December). NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT END OF PERIOD BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: FEBRUARY 1998 In structures with -- 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted 1997 - February 820 574 27 219 March 814 566 28 220 April 814 564 27 223 May 815 565 26 224 June 828 566 25 237 July 836 570 25 241 August 834 567 25 242 September 843 571 26 246 October 853 574 28 251 November 862 575 30 257 December(r) 872 580 31 261 1998 - January(r) 887 593 32 262 FEBRUARY(p) 908 607 35 266 AVG. RSE (%) 1 2 10 2 Not seasonally adjusted 1997 - February 763.7 524.1 9.1 17.5 213.1 March 772.9 530.7 8.7 17.5 216.0 April 799.8 551.2 8.9 16.5 223.2 May 820.0 566.6 8.9 16.2 228.3 June 845.0 579.7 8.7 17.3 239.3 July 864.9 596.9 9.5 16.0 242.6 August 869.6 601.8 9.4 16.4 242.0 September 877.0 605.2 10.5 15.8 245.5 October 886.4 603.3 11.0 18.0 254.1 November 877.9 586.7 11.0 20.3 260.0 December(r) 846.7 554.6 11.2 20.7 260.2 1998 - January(r) 846.5 555.7 11.1 20.9 258.7 FEBRUARY(p) 848.9 556.5 10.6 22.3 259.5 AVG. RSE (%) 1 2 8 14 2 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. AVG. RSE (%): Avg. RSE for the latest 6-month period (January-June or July-December). NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT END OF PERIOD BY LOCATION: FEBRUARY 1998 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted 1997 - February 820 86 181 351 202 March 814 83 179 350 202 April 814 85 178 350 201 May 815 83 179 349 204 June 828 82 182 359 205 July 836 82 183 364 207 August 834 82 179 367 206 September 843 83 181 369 210 October 853 83 183 376 211 November 862 87 181 376 218 December(r) 872 88 183 379 222 1998 - January(r) 887 90 189 382 226 FEBRUARY(p) 908 92 195 390 231 AVG. RSE (%) 1 3 4 2 2 Not seasonally adjusted 1997 - February 763.7 80.1 162.3 333.1 188.2 March 772.9 77.8 164.9 336.6 193.6 April 799.8 82.1 169.6 348.4 199.7 May 820.0 81.4 178.0 356.3 204.3 June 845.0 82.2 185.5 367.1 210.1 July 864.9 85.3 190.9 375.4 213.3 August 869.6 86.5 190.0 379.1 214.1 September 877.0 86.7 190.9 380.4 219.0 October 886.4 86.4 195.7 383.3 221.0 November 877.9 90.1 190.1 378.1 219.7 December(r) 846.7 87.1 181.9 364.8 213.0 1998 - January(r) 846.5 85.4 179.0 366.2 215.9 FEBRUARY(p) 848.9 85.9 176.0 371.3 215.7 AVG. RSE (%) 1 3 4 2 2 (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE (%): Avg. RSE for the latest 6-month period (January-June or July-December). Source: Construction Reports, Series C22, Housing Completions. The C22 report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual Subscription: $11.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Erica Filipek, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301) 457-4703. The following data will appear in tables 2 and 4 of the Current Construction Reports, "Housing Completions: January 1998." Table 2. New Privately Owned Housing Units Completed by Location and Type of Structure (Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding) Period United States Inside MSA's Outside MSA's In structures with In structures with In structures with Total\2 1 unit 5+ units Total\2 1 unit 5+ units Total\2 1 unit 5+ units ANNUAL DATA 1988.... 1,530 1,085 389 1,286 876 365 244 208 24 1989.... 1,423 1,026 338 1,181 823 312 242 203 25 1990.... 1,308 966 297 1,060 759 267 248 207 30 1991.... 1,091 838 217 862 642 194 229 196 22 1992.... 1,158 964 158 910 752 133 248 212 25 1993.... 1,193 1,039 127 943 818 106 250 222 21 1994.... 1,347 1,160 155 1,086 929 135 261 232 20 1995.... 1,313 1,066 212 1,065 848 191 248 217 21 1996.... 1,413 1,129 251 1,163 913 226 249 215 25 1997\r.. 1,400 1,116 247 1,153 904 221 248 212 26 QUARTERLY DATA 1993 1st qtr. 245 212 28 194 167 24 51 45 5 2nd qtr. 286 247 33 222 191 27 64 56 6 3rd qtr. 317 275 34 255 220 29 63 55 6 4th qtr. 345 305 32 273 240 27 73 66 5 1994 1st qtr. 270 238 25 219 193 21 51 46 3 2nd qtr. 336 291 37 274 236 32 63 55 5 3rd qtr. 361 308 45 292 246 40 70 62 6 4th qtr. 379 323 48 302 254 42 77 69 6 1995 1st qtr. 291 246 37 233 194 33 59 52 4 2nd qtr. 318 258 51 258 207 45 60 52 6 3rd qtr. 346 272 65 284 219 59 62 53 6 4th qtr. 357 289 59 289 229 54 67 60 5 1996 1st qtr. 293 235 52 243 192 47 50 44 5 2nd qtr. 342 270 66 285 222 59 57 48 7 3rd qtr. 382 301 71 314 243 64 69 59 7 4th qtr. 394 322 63 321 257 57 74 65 6 1997 1st qtr. 310 251 51 255 204 45 55 47 5 2nd qtr. 338 271 57 279 221 51 59 51 6 3rd qtr. 363 287 66 302 235 59 61 52 7 4th qtr\r 389 307 73 316 244 65 72 63 7 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS\3 Annual(%) 1 1 3 1 1 3 4 4 12 Qtrly (%) 2 2 6 2 2 6 5 6 16 See footnotes at end of table. Table 2. New Privately Owned Housing Units Completed by Location and Type of Structure - Continued (Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding) Period Northeast Midwest In structures with In structures with Total\2 1 unit 5+ units Total\2 1 unit 5+ units ANNUAL DATA 1988... 250 188 50 280 191 76 1989... 219 159 48 267 191 62 1990... 158 127 23 263 195 57 1991... 120 100 14 240 185 45 1992... 136 114 18 268 218 40 1993... 118 105 10 273 232 33 1994... 123 113 7 307 255 42 1995... 127 108 16 288 232 44 1996... 125 108 14 304 245 48 1997\r. 134 115 14 296 236 47 QUARTERLY DATA 1993 1st qtr... 24 21 2 51 42 9 2nd qtr... 27 24 2 64 55 7 3rd qtr... 29 26 2 74 63 9 4th qtr... 37 34 3 83 73 8 1994 1st qtr... 22 21 1 57 47 7 2nd qtr... 31 27 3 76 62 12 3rd qtr... 35 32 3 84 72 11 4th qtr... 35 33 1 90 75 13 1995 1st qtr... 30 26 3 62 51 8 2nd qtr... 29 25 3 75 59 14 3rd qtr... 33 27 6 79 61 15 4th qtr... 35 30 4 72 62 7 1996 1st qtr... 24 21 3 56 45 9 2nd qtr... 29 25 3 73 55 16 3rd qtr... 32 28 3 88 68 16 4th qtr... 40 34 5 87 76 8 1997 1st qtr... 32 27 5 61 48 10 2nd qtr... 32 28 3 70 57 10 3rd qtr... 35 30 (S) 81 63 15 4th qtr\r. 35 31 (S) 83 68 12 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS\3 Annual (%) 3 3 12 3 2 9 Quarterly (%) 6 4 53 4 4 14 See footnotes at end of table. Table 2. New Privately Owned Housing Units Completed by Location and Type of Structure - Continued (Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding) Period South West In structures with In structures with Total\2 1 unit 5+ units Total\2 1 unit 5+ units ANNUAL DATA 1988... 595 457 121 405 248 142 1989... 549 420 112 387 257 115 1990... 511 389 109 376 255 108 1991... 439 348 81 291 205 76 1992... 462 400 52 290 232 49 1993... 512 456 49 290 247 35 1994... 581 507 64 336 285 42 1995... 581 472 99 317 253 54 1996... 637 507 120 346 269 69 1997\r. 634 506 118 336 259 68 QUARTERLY DATA 1993 1st qtr... 109 99 9 60 50 8 2nd qtr... 121 105 14 74 62 10 3rd qtr... 139 123 13 74 63 9 4th qtr... 143 128 13 82 71 8 1994 1st qtr... 119 107 10 73 63 8 2nd qtr... 146 130 13 83 72 9 3rd qtr... 152 131 18 90 74 14 4th qtr... 164 139 23 90 77 11 1995 1st qtr... 130 110 18 69 58 9 2nd qtr... 140 114 22 74 60 12 3rd qtr... 152 121 28 82 64 16 4th qtr... 159 126 30 90 71 17 1996 1st qtr... 136 108 26 77 61 15 2nd qtr... 156 124 30 84 66 17 3rd qtr... 169 134 32 94 71 20 4th qtr... 177 141 32 91 71 17 1997 1st qtr... 143 120 20 74 56 16 2nd qtr... 152 121 28 83 65 16 3rd qtr... 163 128 32 84 66 16 4th qtr\r. 176 136 38 94 72 20 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS\3 Annual (%) 2 2 4 1 1 2 Quarterly (%) 2 3 7 3 3 9 p Preliminary. r Revised. S Withheld because estimate did not meet publication standards on the basis of response rate, associated standard error, or a consistency review. 1 Metropolitan statistical areas. 2 Includes units completed in structures with two to four units. 3 Average Relative Standard Errors (Avg. RSE): Annual--Avg. RSE for the last 2 years; Quarterly--Avg. RSE for the latest 2-quarter period (quarter 1-quarter 2 or quarter 3-quarter 4). Table 4. New Privately Owned Housing Units Under Construction by Location and Type of Structure (Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding) Period United States Inside MSA's\1 Outside MSA's\1 In structures In structures In structures with with with 5 units 5 units 5 units Total\2 1 unit or more Total\2 1 unit or more Total\2 1 unit or more QUARTERLY DATA 1993 1st qtr 600.9 471.1 111.7 451.6 344.0 94.7 149.3 127.1 17.0 2nd qtr 675.3 542.5 112.7 513.1 401.8 96.9 162.2 140.7 15.8 3rd qtr 707.6 572.4 114.4 538.5 423.7 100.0 169.1 148.7 14.4 4th qtr 680.1 543.0 118.2 521.0 404.7 102.9 159.1 138.3 15.3 1994 1st qtr 695.6 551.1 126.8 542.5 418.6 111.5 153.0 132.5 15.3 2nd qtr 776.8 608.9 150.5 605.0 459.4 132.8 171.7 149.4 17.7 3rd qtr 806.0 621.2 164.7 625.5 464.3 146.7 180.5 156.8 17.9 4th qtr 762.2 557.8 182.5 597.6 417.9 163.9 164.5 139.9 18.5 1995 1st qtr 732.3 520.5 190.9 584.5 396.7 172.5 147.8 123.7 18.4 2nd qtr 775.7 551.4 202.4 617.6 417.2 184.3 158.0 134.2 18.2 3rd qtr 813.4 584.7 206.8 645.3 441.8 187.3 168.1 143.0 19.5 4th qtr 775.9 547.2 207.7 620.1 417.0 187.4 155.8 130.2 20.3 1996 1st qtr 772.8 544.0 209.9 620.5 417.2 189.2 152.3 126.8 20.7 2nd qtr 845.1 610.5 208.0 672.9 465.2 188.1 172.2 145.3 19.8 3rd qtr 858.9 624.5 209.1 680.0 473.2 188.3 178.9 151.3 20.9 4th qtr 792.3 550.0 214.3 629.9 417.2 191.6 162.4 132.9 22.7 1997 1st qtr 772.9 530.7 216.0 625.5 411.5 194.2 147.4 119.2 21.8 2nd qtr 845.0 579.7 239.3 680.0 446.0 214.6 165.0 133.8 24.7 3rd qtr 877.0 605.2 245.5 703.0 461.8 221.5 174.0 143.3 24.0 4th qtr\r 846.7 554.6 260.2 683.5 426.5 235.1 163.2 128.1 25.1 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS\3 End of period(%) 1 2 2 1 1 2 4 5 8 See footnotes at end of table. Table 4. New Privately Owned Housing Units Under Construction by Location and Type of Structure - Continued (Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding) Period Northeast Midwest In structures with In structures with Total\2 1 unit 5+ units Total\2 1 unit 5+ units QUARTERLY DATA 1993 1st qtr 76.9 58.9 16.0 130.4 101.9 22.9 2nd qtr 86.0 68.1 16.0 153.0 120.2 26.4 3rd qtr 94.3 76.1 16.2 161.9 129.6 25.6 4th qtr 89.3 72.5 14.8 154.4 119.0 29.2 1994 1st qtr 84.9 65.9 17.0 148.5 116.1 27.1 2nd qtr 96.8 77.5 17.4 176.3 139.4 31.5 3rd qtr 96.6 77.8 16.7 185.0 144.0 34.5 4th qtr 96.3 77.0 17.2 173.5 128.1 38.2 1995 1st qtr 88.7 69.9 16.7 155.3 111.4 37.6 2nd qtr 94.7 73.2 19.4 162.0 121.4 33.8 3rd qtr 94.4 76.4 16.1 172.8 131.4 34.2 4th qtr 86.3 70.1 14.3 172.0 125.0 40.2 1996 1st qtr 82.6 66.8 13.8 164.5 121.0 37.3 2nd qtr 90.4 74.2 13.5 183.6 141.5 32.9 3rd qtr 93.7 76.7 14.3 193.4 150.3 34.1 4th qtr 85.2 68.1 14.0 178.0 128.7 39.4 1997 1st qtr 77.8 60.2 14.6 164.9 119.5 36.2 2nd qtr 82.2 63.1 16.2 185.5 134.9 41.6 3rd qtr 86.7 65.7 18.0 190.9 143.9 37.9 4th qtr\r 87.1 63.1 20.7 181.9 126.9 42.0 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS\2 End of period(%) 3 3 7 4 4 8 See footnotes at end of table. Table 4. New Privately Owned Housing Units Under Construction by Location and Type of Structure - Continued (Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding) Period South West In structures with In structures with Total\2 1 unit 5+ units Total\2 1 unit 5+ units QUARTERLY DATA 1993 1st qtr 234.8 192.6 37.5 158.8 117.7 35.4 2nd qtr 265.7 223.8 36.5 170.6 130.5 33.9 3rd qtr 271.1 228.0 37.1 180.3 138.7 35.5 4th qtr 265.4 219.1 40.9 170.9 132.4 33.3 1994 1st qtr 286.5 231.5 49.4 175.6 137.7 33.3 2nd qtr 316.9 245.9 65.7 186.7 146.0 36.0 3rd qtr 330.3 250.6 74.0 194.1 148.7 39.4 4th qtr 312.1 223.4 82.8 180.3 129.2 44.3 1995 1st qtr 310.6 216.3 87.9 177.7 122.9 48.7 2nd qtr 327.2 226.3 94.3 191.7 130.5 54.9 3rd qtr 343.1 237.9 98.8 203.0 139.0 57.7 4th qtr 331.4 226.7 98.5 186.3 125.3 54.8 1996 1st qtr 335.7 231.4 98.5 190.0 124.8 60.2 2nd qtr 363.2 257.9 97.6 208.0 136.9 64.1 3rd qtr 364.4 259.2 98.2 207.5 138.3 62.5 4th qtr 337.6 230.3 99.5 191.4 122.9 61.3 1997 1st qtr 336.6 223.4 105.9 193.6 127.6 59.3 2nd qtr 367.1 242.4 116.9 210.1 139.3 64.6 3rd qtr 380.4 248.7 123.7 219.0 146.9 65.8 4th qtr\r 364.8 226.4 129.4 213.0 138.2 68.0 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS\3 End of period(%) 2 3 3 2 3 2 p Preliminary. r Revised. 1 Metropolitan statistical areas. 2 Includes units under construction in structures with 2 to 4 units. 3 Average Relative Standard Errors: Average for latest 2-quarter period (quarter 1-quarter 2 or quarter 3-quarter 4).