**MNI 5 THINGS: US Starts, Permits Up Solidly In March>

--5 Things We Learned From March New Residential Construction Data

By Kevin Kastner

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

new residential construction data released Tuesday by the Commerce 

Department: 

     - March housing starts rose by 1.9% to a 1.319 million rate, well 

ahead of the 1.258 million pace expected and following a large upward 

revision to 1.295 million for the February data and a small upward 

adjustment to the January pace. As a result, the first quarter average 

stands at 1.318 million, up from 1.256 million in the fourth quarter, a 

positive for 1Q GDP. 

     - Permits posted a 2.5% gain to a 1.354 million rate, while those 

permitted but not started slipped by 1.9%. The recent levels of permits 

suggest that this category, as well as starts eventually, should see 

gains in the coming months. The NAHB index slipped for the fourth 

straight month in April, but remained elevated. 

     - Single-family housing starts fell 3.7% in March, breaking from 

their generally upward trend, so the headline gain was led by a 14.4% 

rebounding in multi-family starts. Single-family building permits were 

down 5.5%, while multi-family permits were up 19.0%. 

     - Starts rose in the Midwest (+22.4%) and Northeast (+0.8%), but 

fell modestly in the South (-0.6%) and West (-1.5%) regions. 

     - Homes under construction were up 0.3% to their highest point 

since July 2007, while completions fell 5.1% to 1.217 million. With the 

strong starts readings recently, these categories should move higher in 

the coming months. 

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

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