Housing starts and housing completions for September, October and November were released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development today.  The September and October numbers were not released on schedule in October and November because of the nearly month-long government shutdown.   Information on permitting for the two months was released on a delayed basis on November 26.

Housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 873,000 compared to 883,000 in August.  Starts in October were at a revised rate of 889,000 and November starts increased by a substantial 22.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,091,000.  The November figure is a 29.6 percent jump from the estimate of 842,000 starts in November 2012, and the largest month-over-month increase since 1990!

Single-family housing starts for the three months were:  September, 580,000; October, 602,000; and November, 727,000.  The November figure was a 26.2 percent increase from one year earlier.  Multifamily starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 354,000, up 26.0 percent from October.

Housing starts in November increased by 29.4 percent from October in the Northeast, 41.7 percent in the Midwest, 38.5 percent in the South, and 8.8 percent in the West.  On an annual basis starts were up 23.5 percent in the Northeast, 39.0 percent in the Midwest, 24.3 percent in the South, and 37.4 percent in the West.

Housing Starts

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New home construction was completed in September at an annual rate of 762,000, down slightly from the August rate of 765,000.  The October rate was 824,000 and November completions decreased by 0.1 percent to 823,000, a 21.6 percent improvement over November 2012. 

Completions rose by 34.9 percent in the Northeast from October to November but were down in the Midwest and South by -1.5 percent and -8.3 percent respectively.  Completions were up 8.7 percent in the West.   Completions were up by double digits in all four regions compared to one year earlier.

Permits in November were issued at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.007,000, down 3.1 percent from the revised October estimate of 1,039,000 but 7.9 percent higher than a year earlier.   October permits were originally reported at a rate of 1,034,000.

Single family permits were issued at a rate of 634,000, up 2.1 percent from October and 10.5 percent above a year earlier.  Permits for construction in buildings of five units or more was at a rate of 346,000 compared to 391,000 in October.

On a regional basis permitting increased by 7.8 percent on a monthly basis and 41.0 percent annually in the Northeast, and was down 0.6 percent and 1.8 percent in the Midwest. Permits in the South and West were down 7.0 and 0.4 percent from October but were up 3.5 percent and 13.8 percent year-over-year.

At the end of November there were an estimated 106,000 permits outstanding for which construction had not yet been started and 685,000 units under construction.

Building Permits

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