REPEAT: MNI DATA ANALYSIS: US Starts Slip To 1.236m SAAR>

Repeats Story Initially Transmitted at 12:30 GMT Mar 16

--February Building Permits Fall 5.7% To 1.298 Mln SAAR

--January Starts Revised Up To 1.329 Mln From Previous 1.326 Mln

By Kevin Kastner

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The pace of housing starts fell by 7.0% to a 

1.236 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in February, behind 

expectations for a 1.287 million rate after a spike to an upward revised  

1.329 million pace in January, data reported by the Commerce Department 

Friday morning showed.  

     Housing starts fell by 3.5% in the Northeast, 7.3% in the South 

region and 12.9% in the West region, all of which had added to the 

January spike. These were partially offset by a 7.6% rebound in the 

Midwest. 

     Housing starts of single-family homes rose by 2.9% in February 

after a 3.5% gain in the previous month. Starts of multi-family homes 

fell 26.1% after a 25.6% gain in January, based on an MNI calculation. 

--OUTLOOK SOFTER FOR NEAR-TERM BUILDING 

     Building permits fell 5.7% in the month to a 1.298 million rate 

after jumping to 1.377 million in January. Homes permitted but not 

started fell 1.9%. As a result, starts could dip further in the coming 

months. Single-family permits authorized fell 0.6%, while multi-family 

permits were down 14.8%. 

     The NAHB index for March reported on Thursday showed another modest 

decline in builder confidence, but remained elevated. 

     Even with the slowdown in January, the first quarter housing starts 

pace, which averaged 1.283 million for the two months so far, was ahead 

of the 1.256 million fourth quarter average. Permits have averaged 1.338 

million through the first two months, ahead of the 1.306 million average 

pace in the fourth quarter. 

--NEW HOME SUPPLY MOVING HIGHER

     Homes under construction were up 0.1% and completions rose 7.8%, 

both to new 10-year high levels. As a result, new home supply should 

post an increase when that data is released on March 23 with the home 

sales data. 

     ** MNI Washington Bureau (202) 371-2121 **