US Housing Starts tumbled 8.8% in March (missing -1.1% expectations by the most since Feb 2015) as both single-family (-9.2%) and multi-family units (-7.9%) tumbled. The biggest drop was in The West (-16% overall with a 26.9% MoM plunge in single-family units). Worst still, Permits (forward-looking), plunged 7.7% (agsinst expectations of 2% rise) - this is the 2nd biggest MoM crash since Jan 2011. As the Spring-selling season starts, the housing 'recovery' appears to be stalling.
Regionallyu it was very mixed:
Permits in Northeast declined 17.9%, Midwest down 3.1%, South down 3.2%, West down 15.4%
Starts in Northeast rose 61.3%, Midwest down 25.4%, South down 8.4%, West down 15.7%
As both Single- and Multi-family starts tumbled...
And it's not going to get any better as multi-family permits continue to plunge (but single-family dropped more MoM)...
All suggesting higher rents and less affordability is coming - just in time for The Fed to hike rates as Rosengren said was looming faster than the market expected.