by Calculated Risk on 1/17/2013 08:30:00 AM

From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions

Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 954,000. This is 12.1 percent above the revised November estimate of 851,000 and is 36.9 percent above the December 2011 rate of 697,000.

Single-family housing starts in December were at a rate of 616,000; this is 8.1 percent above the revised November figure of 570,000. The December rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 330,000.

An estimated 780,000 housing units were started in 2012. This is 28.1 percent above the 2011 figure of 608,800.

Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 903,000. This is 0.3 percent above the revised November rate of 900,000 and is 28.8 percent above the December 2011 estimate of 701,000.

Single-family authorizations in December were at a rate of 578,000; this is 1.8 percent above the revised November figure of 568,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 301,000 in December.

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 sharply from November.

Single-family starts (blue) increased to 616,000 thousand in December.

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

This shows the huge collapse following the housing bubble, and that total housing starts have been increasing lately after moving sideways for about two years and a half years.

Total housing starts were at 954 thousand (SAAR) in December, up 12.1% from the revised November rate of 851 thousand (SAAR).

Total starts has doubled from the bottom start rate, and single family starts are up about 75 percent from the low

This was well above expectations of 887 thousand starts in December. Starts in December were up 36.9% from December 2011, and starts are up 28.1% from the 2011 level. I'll have more soon ...

All Housing Investment and Construction Graphs