Housing Permits Accelerate for 4th Month

There were 83,800 housing permits filed in February 2016. Comapred with one year ago, housing permits increased 8.1 percent. This was the fourth month in a row that housing permits increased month-over-month. And, the annual rate of growth accelerated for the fourth month in a row too. The current rate of annual growth of 11.6 percent is the fastest since April 2014.

The real 10-year treasury rate has increased at a slower rate for several months. Typically, this indicates accelerating growth in housing permits. Changes in the interest rate lead changes in housing permits and construction spending by about 12 months on average.

We use housing permits as an early leading indicator for the following industries: appliances; custom processors; furniture; hardware; HVAC; off-road/construction machinery; petrochemical processors; plastics; plastic/rubber products; pumps/valves/plumbing products; textiles/clothing/leather goods; and wood/paper products.