The number of U.S. privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in January 2012 totaled a seasonally adjusted 676,000, an impressive 19% increase from 568,000 in January 2011 and 0.7% more than the 671,000 reported in December 2011.

Single-family authorizations in January 2012 totaled 445,000, up 6% from 419,000 in January 2011 and up 0.9% from the the revised December 2011 figure of 441,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more equaled 208,000 in January 2012,  a significant 61% increase from 129,000 in January 2011 and a roughly 1% increase from 206,000 in December 2011.

Housing Starts Rise 10% Y-O-Y

Privately-owned housing starts in January 2012 occurred at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 699,000, which was 9.9% higher than 636,000 in January 2011 and 1.5% higher than 689,000 in December 2011. There were 508,000 single-family housing starts in January 2012, 16% higher than 437,000 in January 2011 but 1% less than 513,000 in December 2011  The January rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 175,000, 6% less than 187,000 in January 2011 but 14% more than 153,000 in Dcember 2011.

Housing Completions Fall 12% Y-O-Y

There were 530,000 seasonally adjusted privately-owned housing completions in January 2012, about 4% more than the 509,000 recorded in January 2011 but 12% less than 602,000 in December 2011.This total figure included 389,000 single-family housing completions, about 7% below 417,000 in January 2011 and also 15% below the December 2011 rate of 457,000. The January 2012 rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 136,000, up a strong 58% from 86,000 in January 2011 and flat with the rate in December 2011.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development