Content about Seasonally adjusted annual rate

Commerce Department data released Tuesday morning show February housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 698,000.

There’s good news and bad news in Tuesday’s data.

February starts declined 1.1% compared with the upwardly revised January figure. And single-family starts declined 9.9% to a rate of 457,000. The total-starts figure fell below expectations, as analysts expected about 710,000. 

Sales of new single-family houses in December fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 307,000, down 2.2% from the revised November rate of 314,000. 

Compared with a year ago, December new housing sales were down 7.3%, according to the U.S. Commerce Department's new residential sales report released Thursday. 

Close followers of the Commerce Department's monthly residential construction data have been wondering all month if September's strong showing in housing starts could sustain itself.

The answer was delivered this morning by the latest data, sort of. Housing starts officially slipped 0.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 628,000. 

September housing starts showed double-digit increases compared with both last year and last month, according to data released this morning by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Housing starts came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 658,000, up 15% from the August rate of 572,000, and up 10.2% compared with September 2010.

The figure of 658,000 was the highest total housing-starts figure since April 2010, when starts stood at 687,000.

The latest tally from the U.S. Department of Commerce showed housing starts in August at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 571,000.

The disappointing August rate -- analysts were expecting a pace of about 590,000 -- was 5% below July's downwardly revised figure, and 5.8% below the August 2010 rate of 606,000.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that existing-home sales declined in July compared with June, but have improved compared with a year ago.

Total existing-home sales, which are based on transaction closings of single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, fell from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.84 million in June to 4.67 million in July, a decrease of 3.5%. However, existing-home sales for July 2011 were 21.0% above the 3.86 million-unit pace in July 2010.

Monthly housing starts for June rose above the 600,000 mark for the first time since January, according to data released today by the Commerce Department.

Housing starts increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 629,000 in June, up 14.6% from the revised May estimate of 549,000. Single-family starts also showed a big improvement -- up 9.4% to a rate of 453,000.

The 629,000 annual rate came in much higher than anticipated by most forecasts, which had called for a rate of about 570,000.

With seemingly nowhere to go but up, housing starts in May increased 3.5% from the upwardly revised April figure to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000. Single-family starts increased 3.7% to a rate of 419,000.

The figures had easy comparisons from a month ago, when the Commerce Department's New Residential Construction report posted depressing numbers. While the month-to-month gains are a welcome sign for the industry, year-over-year statistics are negative -- total starts were down 3.4%, and single-family starts were down 8.9%.

Data released by the Commerce Department this morning showed housing starts at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 523,000 -- down 10.6% compared with the upwardly revised March figure of 574,000.

Single-family starts were at a rate of 394,000, down 5.1% from the revised March figure of 415,000.

Compared with the same month last year, total housing starts fell 23.9%, while single-family starts plunged 30%.

The Department of Commerce's residential construction report released today shows both total starts and single-family starts for March are up over February, but way down compared with March 2010.

March housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 549,000, up 7.2% from February, but down 13.4% from the same month last year.

Single-family starts were reported at a pace of 422,000, up 7.7% compared with February, but down 21.1% compared with March 2010.

Sales of new single-family houses in January 2011 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 284,000, according to estimates released jointly Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The pace is 12.6% below the revised December rate of 325,000. January sales were 18.6% below the January 2010 estimate of 349,000.

Sales of new single-family houses in November 2010 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 290,000, according to estimates released jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development -- a 5.5% increase over October.

However, the figure is 21.2% below the same month last year.