For release 10:00 A.M., EST, Friday, March 5, 1999 CB99-45 JANUARY 1999 HOUSING COMPLETIONS AT AN ANNUAL RATE OF 1,661,000 Privately owned housing completions in January 1999 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,661,000, 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 15 (+/-6) percent above the revised December 1998 rate of 1,444,000, and 26 (+/-7) percent above the revised January 1998 rate of 1,314,000. The January 1999 rate of single-family housing completions was 1,305,000. This is 14 (+/-6) percent above the revised December 1998 rate of 1,148,000. The rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 292,000, and the rate for units in buildings with two to four units was 64,000. At the end of January 1999, the seasonally adjusted estimate of housing units under construction was 1,008,000. This is 1 (+/-1) percent above the revised December 1998 figure of 999,000. Of these, 695,000 units were single-family structures, 286,000 were in buildings with five units or more, and 27,000 were in buildings with two to four units. The next press release is scheduled to be issued on Friday, April 2, 1999, at 10:00 A.M. EST. 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 1999 issue of Current Construction Reports, C22/99-1, will include explanations of confidence intervals and sampling variability. On average, the preliminary seasonally adjusted estimate of total housing completions is revised about +/-1 percent. Table 1. New Privately Owned Housing Units Completed (Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding.) In structures with -- Period Total North- Midwest South West 3 and 4 5 units east 1 unit 2 units units or more 1a. Revised seasonally adjusted annual rates 1996- January 1,402 1,113 27 262 116 330 596 360 February 1,317 1,046 27 244 129 236 600 352 March 1,369 1,103 27 239 104 295 624 346 April 1,327 1,054 25 248 118 308 575 326 May 1,423 1,147 25 251 109 288 664 362 June 1,437 1,131 26 280 131 300 652 354 July 1,453 1,145 34 274 110 345 652 346 August 1,468 1,172 44 252 126 317 675 350 September 1,379 1,116 39 224 129 282 604 364 October 1,392 1,146 25 221 135 276 653 328 November 1,413 1,118 53 242 143 337 625 308 December 1,487 1,180 44 263 130 327 679 351 1997- January 1,383 1,136 19 228 122 330 587 344 February 1,543 1,246 42 255 150 334 702 357 March 1,449 1,148 40 261 212 274 638 325 April 1,426 1,125 47 254 121 301 653 351 May 1,395 1,113 37 245 149 286 610 350 June 1,329 1,107 35 187 127 276 593 333 July 1,305 1,052 38 215 136 268 587 314 August 1,336 1,071 35 230 119 304 583 330 September 1,447 1,144 42 261 135 298 703 311 October 1,412 1,084 42 286 119 309 646 338 November 1,410 1,121 26 263 125 294 653 338 December 1,431 1,098 41 292 121 300 657 353 1998- January 1,314 1,019 25 270 136 273 575 330 February 1,314 1,019 25 270 136 273 575 330 March 1,439 1,125 38 276 119 326 650 344 April 1,484 1,175 39 270 135 322 699 328 May 1,457 1,114 48 295 133 319 678 327 June 1,480 1,169 45 266 134 310 686 350 July 1,549 1,230 31 288 133 337 711 368 August 1,517 1,183 40 294 151 296 702 368 September 1,459 1,184 35 240 150 255 685 369 October 1,455 1,164 53 238 131 288 661 375 November 1,600 1,254 42 304 147 303 734 416 December 1,444 1,148 41 255 148 295 632 369 1999 -January (p) 1,661 1,305 64 292 133 316 811 401 Average RSE (%) 2 3 16 7 7 7 4 3 1b. Not seasonally adjusted 1997 1,400.5 1,116.4 13.6 23.4 247.1 134.0 295.9 634.1 336.4 1998(r) 1,474.4 1,159.6 16.2 24.4 274.3 137.3 305.2 671.5 360.4 Average RSE (%) 1 1 7 10 3 3 3 2 1 1998 -January 91.5 71.3 0.8 1.0 18.4 9.5 17.9 40.7 23.3 February 97.7 76.8 1.2 1.9 17.9 8.3 20.0 45.7 23.8 March 111.2 85.5 1.1 3.0 21.6 8.0 23.9 50.6 28.7 April 115.3 90.8 1.3 2.1 21.1 9.2 25.4 56.6 24.0 May 118.9 89.9 1.4 2.5 25.0 11.4 25.5 54.5 27.5 June 127.7 100.5 1.5 1.8 23.9 12.0 26.9 59.0 29.9 July 133.6 103.1 0.9 1.8 27.7 10.9 30.2 60.0 32.4 August 138.6 104.6 1.8 2.0 30.2 12.8 28.2 64.5 33.1 September 130.9 107.6 1.8 1.4 20.1 14.4 25.0 59.2 32.3 October 133.3 108.1 1.8 2.5 21.0 12.6 27.5 58.5 34.7 November (r) 139.0 111.5 1.3 2.2 23.9 13.6 27.2 61.7 36.4 December (r) 136.8 109.9 1.3 2.3 23.3 14.6 27.4 60.5 34.3 1999 -January (p) 115.9 91.3 0.7 3.9 20.1 9.2 20.6 57.5 28.6 Average RSE (%) 2 3 20 22 7 7 7 4 3 (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (X) Not applicable. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Average relative standard error (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). Table 2. Privately Owned Housing Units Under Construction (Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding.) In structures with -- Period Total North- Midwest South West 3 and 4 5 units east 1 unit 2 units units or more 2a. Revised seasonally adjusted 1996 January 803 570 20 213 87 176 345 195 February 793 563 19 211 82 175 338 198 March 814 581 20 213 88 179 349 198 April 827 592 22 213 88 180 354 205 May 832 592 26 214 90 182 357 203 June 826 593 26 207 89 180 354 203 July 824 591 28 205 90 181 352 201 August 820 591 24 205 89 182 347 202 September 824 590 24 210 90 183 353 198 October 821 585 26 210 89 182 349 201 November 829 586 28 215 86 183 355 205 December 814 572 28 214 86 179 350 199 1997 January 818 574 29 215 89 177 352 200 February 817 573 27 217 85 180 351 201 March 811 565 27 219 82 178 349 202 April 815 565 27 223 84 178 351 202 May 817 564 26 227 82 180 352 203 June 827 563 26 238 81 183 359 204 July 836 569 25 242 82 184 363 207 August 837 567 27 243 83 181 367 206 September 842 571 25 246 83 181 369 209 October 853 575 28 250 83 183 375 212 November 863 578 29 256 87 182 376 218 December 869 578 31 260 88 183 377 221 1998 January 887 595 32 260 90 188 384 225 February 906 610 33 263 92 195 391 228 March 911 617 32 262 95 189 398 229 April 911 618 32 261 94 190 394 233 May 916 626 32 258 96 187 396 237 June 930 639 32 259 97 188 403 242 July 938 642 33 263 97 185 410 246 August 939 644 32 263 97 184 411 247 September 946 648 31 267 97 187 414 248 October 968 659 30 279 100 193 428 247 November 971 667 30 274 98 195 434 244 December 999 688 29 282 101 202 444 252 1999 January (p) 1,008 695 27 286 102 204 447 255 Average RSE (%) 1 2 11 3 5 4 2 2 2b. Not seasonally adjusted 1998 -January 846.0 556.0 11.1 20.8 258.1 85.8 178.6 366.9 214.7 February 847.5 557.6 10.7 21.1 258.1 86.9 175.9 371.2 213.5 March 867.6 578.6 10.9 19.8 258.4 89.7 174.9 383.4 219.7 April 895.5 604.5 10.9 19.9 260.3 92.6 181.6 390.7 230.6 May 918.1 628.4 11.3 19.9 258.5 95.0 184.9 400.8 237.5 June 948.7 656.4 11.3 21.0 260.0 96.8 191.0 412.4 248.3 July 970.1 674.3 11.6 20.9 263.3 101.7 191.3 423.1 254.1 August 976.8 682.9 11.2 21.9 260.8 101.5 193.8 425.1 256.4 September 984.7 686.8 10.0 21.3 266.7 100.1 197.9 427.1 259.7 October 1,003.9 689.0 9.4 21.7 283.9 103.6 207.4 437.6 255.3 November (r) 988.0 678.4 9.0 22.2 278.4 102.1 203.2 436.0 246.6 December (r) 970.7 658.9 8.4 20.8 282.6 98.7 200.7 429.0 242.2 1999 -January (p) 961.0 650.2 8.3 19.0 283.6 97.8 193.2 427.0 242.9 Average RSE (%) 1 2 8 15 3 5 4 2 2 (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (X) Not applicable. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Average relative standard error (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). 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 Dale R. Jacobson, Residential Construction Branch, Manufacturing and Construction Division. Telephone (301) 457-1321. The following data will appear in tables 2 and 4 in Current Construction Reports, "Housing Completions: January 1999". Seasonal factors, which normally appear in tables 5 and 6 of this report, will be found in tables A1 and A2 in the Appendix of this report. Copies of these tables are available by FAX. Please call: (301) 457-1321 to request a copy of either of these tables. 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.... 1,400 1,116 247 1,153 904 221 248 212 26 1998\r.. 1,474 1,160 274 1,229 951 248 245 208 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. 389 307 73 316 244 65 72 63 7 1998 1st qtr. 300 234 58 250 193 52 50 40 6 2nd qtr. 362 281 70 304 233 63 58 49 7 3rd qtr. 403 315 78 338 260 71 65 56 8 4th qtr\r 409 329 68 337 266 63 72 63 6 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS\3 Annual(%) 1 1 3 1 1 3 4 4 13 Qtrly (%) 2 2 5 2 2 5 5 5 19 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... 134 115 14 296 236 47 1998\r. 137 116 16 305 244 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... 35 31 (S) 83 68 12 1998 1st qtr... 26 22 3 62 47 10 2nd qtr... 33 27 4 78 61 13 3rd qtr... 38 33 4 83 65 16 4th qtr\r. 41 34 5 82 70 8 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS\3 Annual (%) 3 2 14 3 3 10 Quarterly (%) 4 3 13 4 4 17 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... 634 506 118 336 259 68 1998\r. 671 517 142 360 283 69 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... 176 136 38 94 72 20 1998 1st qtr... 137 104 31 76 60 15 2nd qtr... 170 128 39 81 65 14 3rd qtr... 184 142 39 98 76 20 4th qtr\r. 181 144 33 105 81 22 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS\3 Annual (%) 2 2 4 1 1 3 Quarterly (%) 2 3 6 2 2 7 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 846.7 554.6 260.2 683.5 426.5 235.1 163.2 128.1 25.1 1998 1st qtr 867.6 578.6 258.4 710.2 452.7 234.5 157.5 125.8 23.9 2nd qtr 948.7 656.4 260.0 770.0 507.7 237.5 178.7 148.7 22.5 3rd qtr 984.7 686.8 266.7 798.0 528.0 245.5 186.7 158.8 21.2 4th qtr\r 970.7 658.9 282.6 794.8 510.8 260.9 175.8 148.1 21.7 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS\3 End of period(%) 1 2 3 1 1 4 4 6 12 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... 87.1 63.1 20.7 181.9 126.9 42.0 1998 1st qtr... 89.7 63.7 22.6 174.9 124.8 40.0 2nd qtr... 96.8 71.3 21.8 191.0 145.4 35.4 3rd qtr... 100.1 73.2 23.1 197.9 155.4 32.8 4th qtr\r. 98.7 70.4 24.7 200.7 151.8 39.5 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS\2 End of period(%) 6 3 22 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 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... 364.8 226.4 129.4 213.0 138.2 68.0 1998 1st qtr... 383.4 245.4 127.7 219.7 144.7 68.1 2nd qtr... 412.4 275.5 126.0 248.3 164.2 76.8 3rd qtr... 427.1 286.1 130.1 259.7 172.2 80.6 4th qtr\r. 429.0 279.2 140.2 242.2 157.5 78.2 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS\3 End of period(%) 2 2 5 2 3 3 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). 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 Dale R. Jacobson, Residential Construction Branch, Manufacturing and Construction Division. Telephone (301) 457-1321.