Economics Atlas

How Wealth Is Ordered
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Economic Indicator

Housing Starts

Housing and Construction

Housing starts measure the number of new residential construction projects that have begun in a given month, counted from the point excavation for the foundation begins, published monthly by the US Census Bureau in cooperation with the Department of Housing and Urban Development since the survey's origins in the 1950s. As one of the most cyclical sectors of the economy, with residential construction both a major source of employment and highly sensitive to interest-rate changes, housing starts are a closely watched leading indicator of broader economic momentum, commonly reported alongside the related building permits figure.

Facts
Classification
Release FrequencySourced to the subject's own account
Monthly 1
Timing ClassSourced to the subject's own account
Leading 1
Geography
Geographic Scope
United States (U.S. Census Bureau) 2
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Housing starts (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Wikipedia, "Housing starts", lead section
    Housing starts is an economic indicator that reflects the number of privately owned new houses on which construction has been started in a given period. This data is divided into three types: single-family houses, townhouses or small condos, and apartment buildings with five or more units.
  • Introduction, frequency
    Housing starts measure the number of new residential construction projects that have begun in a given month, counted from the point excavation for the foundation begins, published monthly by the US Census Bureau in cooperation with the Department of Housing and Urban Development since the survey's origins in the 1950s.
  • Introduction, timing-class
    As one of the most cyclical sectors of the economy, with residential construction both a major source of employment and highly sensitive to interest-rate changes, housing starts are a closely watched leading indicator of broader economic momentum, commonly reported alongside the related building permits figure.
View the Source
2. U.S. Census Bureau
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