Transitory Totals

December housing starts jumped an amazing 40.8% Y-o-Y! Single-family rose 29.6% Y-o-Y, while multifamily rose a staggering 74.6% Y-o-Y, although CY2019 starts grew just 3.2% versus CY2018. The December rise is entirely weather related; Midwest starts jumped 85.4% Y-o-Y and in the West 72.7%. Less weather-dependent permits rose slightly, while activity at utilities plummeted 5.6% as heating demand collapsed due to unseasonably warm weather. These bumps are always short lived.