Permits for privately owned residential construction increased by 3.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in November compared to October. According to the monthly report from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development permits were issued at an annual rate of 899,000 compared to 868,000 in October and the October rate was revised upward from an original estimate of 866,000.  The November rate was an increase of 26.8 percent from 709,000 in November 2011.

Permits for single-family construction were issued at an annual rate of 565,000, down 0.2 percent from an upwardly revised October figure of 566,000 (from 562,000).  Permits for units in buildings with five or more units were authorized at a rate of 307,000.

Building Permits

Privately-owned housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 861,000 units, down 3.0 percent from the revised October estimate of 888,000 (originally estimated at 894,000) but 21.6 percent higher than November 2011 when construction was started on 708,000 units.

Single-family units constituted 565,000 of the starts, down 4.1 percent from October.  October single-family starts, originally estimated at 594,000 were revised down to 589,000.  There were 285,000 units for which construction was begun in multi-unit buildings in November.

Housing Starts

Units were completed at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 677,000 compared to 750,000 in October.  This is a 9.7 percent decrease but is 16.1 percent above the annual rate of 583,000 in November 2011.  The October rate was a substantial revision from 772,000 originally reported.

Single-family housing completions in November were at a rate of 520,000; this is 2.4 percent below the revised October rate of 533,000. The November rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 150,000.

Both housing starts and permits issued showed strong variation across regions.  In the Northeast permits were issued at an annual rate of 76,000, a 6.2 percent drop from the previous month and 5.0 percent lower than a year earlier.  Housing starts were at a rate of 46,000 a -5.2 percent change from the previous month and down 25.2 percent from November 2011.

In the Midwest permits were issued at a rate of 160,000 units, an 8.1 percent increase from October and 49.5 percent higher than a year earlier.  Housing starts were at the rate of 158,000 units, up 3.3 percent from October and 68.1 percent from November 2011.

In the South the permitting rate was 465,000 units, a 2.9 percent monthly increase and 29.2 percent higher than a year earlier.  The rate of housing starts was 458,000 units, also a 2.9 percent increase from October and a 33.1 percent year-over-year improvement.

In the West construction permits increased 5.9 percent from October to 198,000 and were 22.2 percent higher than a year earlier.  Housing starts, however, decreased 19.2 percent from October to 172,000 and were unchanged from November 2011.