Housing Starts (Jan.)

Single-family starts fell for the second month in a row in January, but a rise in building permits to a one-year high means they will soon resume their upward trend. New home sales will be supported by the lack of existing home inventory even as rising mortgage rates curb housing demand. But with a lack of materials delaying completions and pushing homes under construction to 15-year highs, builders will be cautious about starting new projects and we expect a modest rise in starts to around 1.19m by end-2022.