by Calculated Risk on 12/17/2020 08:38:00 AM

From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions

Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,547,000. This is 1.2 percent above the revised October estimate of 1,528,000 and is 12.8 percent above the November 2019 rate of 1,371,000. Single-family housing starts in November were at a rate of 1,186,000; this is 0.4 percent above the revised October figure of 1,181,000. The November rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 352,000.

Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,639,000. This is 6.2 percent above the revised October rate of 1,544,000 and is 8.5 percent above the November 2019 rate of 1,510,000. Single-family authorizations in November were at a rate of 1,143,000; this is 1.3 percent above the revised October figure of 1,128,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 441,000 in November.
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts for the last several years.

Multi-family starts (red, 2+ units) increased slightly in November compared to October.   Multi-family starts were down 18% year-over-year in November.

Single-family starts (blue) increased in November, and were up 27% year-over-year.   This is the highest level for single family starts since 2007.

The second graph shows total and single unit starts since 1968.

The second graph shows the huge collapse following the housing bubble, and then eventual recovery (but still historically low).

Total housing starts in November were slightly above expectations, however starts in September and October were revised down, combined.

I'll have more later …