**MNI 5 THINGS: Housing Starts,Permits Surge;1Q Begins Solid>

--5 Things We Learned From New Residential Construction Data

By Kevin Kastner, Sara Haire and Holly Stokes

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the 

January new residential construction data released Friday by the 

Commerce Department: 

     - January housing starts jumped by 9.7% to a 1.326 million rate, 

well ahead of the 1.225 million pace expected and up solidly from the 

1.256 million fourth quarter average, a positive for residential fixed 

investment. Housing starts in December were revised up to 1.209 million 

from the previously reported 1.192 million rate. 

     - Permits posted a 7.4% rise to a 1.396 million rate, the highest 

since June 2007, while those permitted but not started rose 0.6%, 

suggesting starts could see further gains in the coming months. 

     - Starts were up sharply in the Northeast (+45.5%), South (+9.3%) 

and West (+10.7%), to its highest level since Dec 2006. But these gains 

were partially offset by a decline in the Midwest (-10.2%).

     - Single-family housing starts rose 3.7% in January, but that was 

eclipsed by a 23.7% surge in multi-family starts. Single-family building 

permits were down 1.7%, while multi-family permits were up 26.5%. 

     - Homes under construction were up 0.9%, while completions fell 

1.9%, with weakness seen in three of the four regions. However, the 

strong readings for permits and starts should lift those figures in the 

coming months.

     ** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 ** 

[TOPICS: MAUDS$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]