Housing starts.(Briefly Noted)

Land Use Law Report, March, 2006

HOUSING STARTS fell 7.9 percent in February, the U.S. Commerce Department reported March 16, tracking a 5.0 percent decline in new-home sales the previous month. David Seiders, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders, said housing starts in January and February were influenced by unusually mild weather, and predicted the market would cool further in coming months.

He noted that permits for single-family houses have been gradually declining since the fall of 2005, an indicator of less building activity in the spring. By region, starts were off 23.5 percent in the Northeast and 11.2 percent in the South. Starts in the Midwest fell 10.4 percent, but the West posted a 7.9 percent gain.