by Calculated Risk on 11/17/2016 08:40:00 AM
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Housing Starts increased to 1.323 Million Annual Rate in October
From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions
Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,323,000. This is 25.5 percent above the revised September estimate of 1,054,000 and is 23.3 percent above the October 2015 rate of 1,073,000.
Single-family housing starts in October were at a rate of 869,000; this is 10.7 percent above the revised September figure of 785,000. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 445,000.
Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,229,000. This is 0.3 percent above the revised September rate of 1,225,000 and is 4.6 percent above the October 2015 estimate of 1,175,000.
Single-family authorizations in October were at a rate of 762,000; this is 2.7 percent above the revised September figure of 742,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 439,000 in October.
emphasis added
The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts for the last several years.
Multi-family starts (red, 2+ units) increased significantly in October compared to September. Multi-family starts are up sharply year-over-year.
Multi-family is volatile, and this was a bounce back from the decline last month.
Single-family starts (blue) increased in October, and are up 22% year-over-year. This is the highest level for single family starts since 2007.
The second graph shows the huge collapse following the housing bubble, and then - after moving sideways for a couple of years - housing is now recovering (but still historically low),
Total housing starts in October were above expectations - and at the highest level since 2007 - and August and September were revised up. A strong report. I'll have more later ...