Monthly Industry Briefings > Monthly Industry Forecasts > Construction

US housing starts fell to 897,000 annualised in February, a drop of 17% as the severe winter weather impacted on homebuilding activity. Naturally, the falls were most sharp in the Northeast and Midwest regions where the winter weather has impacted most strongly, but the south also contracted by 2.5% annualised. Put-in-place construction figures show non-residential construction expenditures falling in January by 2% annualised as both private and public projects felt the chill. Nonetheless, sales of new homes surprised on the upside, with 539,000 annualised sales recorded in February, a year-on-year rise of almost 25%. The firming US labour market continues to add jobs which combined with real wage growth is driving consumer spending, a major driving factor for housing demand.