by Calculated Risk on 12/20/2022 08:36:00 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 1,427,000. This is 0.5 percent below the revised October estimate of 1,434,000 and is 16.4 percent below the November 2021 rate of 1,706,000. Single‐family housing starts in November were at a rate of 828,000; this is 4.1 percent below the revised October figure of 863,000. The November rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 584,000.

Building Permits:
Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,342,000. This is 11.2 percent below the revised October rate of 1,512,000 and is 22.4 percent below the November 2021 rate of 1,729,000. Single‐family authorizations in November were at a rate of 781,000; this is 7.1 percent below the revised October figure of 841,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 509,000 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 (blue, 2+ units) increased in November compared to October.   Multi-family starts were up 23.3% year-over-year in November. 

Single-family starts (red) decreased in November and were down 32.1% 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 November were above expectations, however, starts in September and October were revised down, combined.

I'll have more later …