by Calculated Risk on 10/19/2022 08:36:00 AM

From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions

Housing Starts:
Privately‐owned housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,439,000. This is 8.1 percent below the revised August estimate of 1,566,000 and is 7.7 percent below the September 2021 rate of 1,559,000. Single‐family housing starts in September were at a rate of 892,000; this is 4.7 percent below the revised August figure of 936,000. The September rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 530,000

Building Permits:
Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,564,000. This is 1.4 percent above the revised August rate of 1,542,000, but is 3.2 percent below the September 2021 rate of 1,615,000. Single‐family authorizations in September were at a rate of 872,000; this is 3.1 percent below the revised August figure of 900,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 644,000 in September.
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 (blue, 2+ units) decreased in September compared to August.   Multi-family starts were up 18.5% year-over-year in September. 

Single-family starts (red) decreased in September and were down 14.6% year-over-year.

The second graph shows single and multi-family housing starts since 1968.

This shows the huge collapse following the housing bubble, and then the eventual recovery.

Total housing starts in September were below expectations, and starts in July and August were revised down, combined.

I'll have more later …