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April 17, 2018US HOUSING STARTS AND BUILDING PERMITS, MARCH 2018 US residential construction permits, a leading indicator of new construction, increased by 2.5 per cent in March 2018 compared to the revised February estimate, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,354,000. This is 7.5 per cent above the March 2017 estimate of 1,260,000. The monthly increase mostly reflects a 22.9 per cent increase in structures with 5 units or more, while permits for single unit structures declined 5.5 per cent and permits for structures with 2 to 4 units declined 12.8 per cent.
On a year-to-date basis, permits are up 7.2 per cent in the first three months of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017. Permits for structures with 2 to 4 units were up 22.8 per cent in Jan-Mar 2018, while structures with 5 or more units were up 9.0 per cent and single unit structures were up 5.7 per cent.
US housing starts in March 2018 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,319,000 units. This is 1.9 per cent above the revised February estimate of 1,295,000 and 10.9 per cent above the March 2017 estimate of 1,189,000. In Jan-Mar 2018, housing starts are up 6.5 per cent over the same three months in 2017.
US housing starts are an important indicator for Nova Scotia's wood exports. Though not a perfect predictor, US housing starts and the value of Nova Scotia's wood exports follow similar directions over the long-term.
Source: US Census Bureau New Residential Construction
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