Housing Starts Increase 29.6%
Mild temperatures in January helped push new-home construction up a record 29.6%, the Commerce Department said Thursday, but analysts warned that talk of a boom is premature.
Builders hampered by exceptionally bitter cold in December were able to take advantage of unusually warm weather last month to increase starts on both single-family homes and apartments after a 6.9% drop in December. Total starts climbed to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.63 million units from 1.25 million in December.
It was the best showing since 1.66 million starts in January, 1989, and far exceeded some forecasts. But analysts warned that mild weather, rather than a market change, accounted for the increase.
For example, while housing starts rose in all regions, the sharpest increase came in the usually frigid Midwest (42.6%).
HOUSING STARTS
Seasonally adjusted annual rate, millions of units Jan. ‘90: 1.63 Dec. ‘89: 1.25 Jan. ‘89: 1.66 Source: Commerce Department
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