by Calculated Risk on 12/16/2015 08:40:00 AM
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Housing Starts increased to 1.173 Million Annual Rate in November
From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions
Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,173,000. This is 10.5 percent above the revised October estimate of 1,062,000 and is 16.5 percent above the November 2014 rate of 1,007,000.
Single-family housing starts in November were at a rate of 768,000; this is 7.6 percent above the revised October figure of 714,000. The November rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 398,000.
Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,289,000. This is 11.0 percent above the revised October rate of 1,161,000 and is 19.5 percent above the November 2014 estimate of 1,079,000.
Single-family authorizations in November were at a rate of 723,000; this is 1.1 percent above the revised October figure of 715,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 539,000 in November.
emphasis added
The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts for the last several years.
Multi-family starts (red, 2+ units) increased in November. Multi-family starts are up 20% year-over-year.
Single-family starts (blue) increased in November and are up 15% year-over-year.
This is the highest level of single family starts since January 2008.
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 November were above expectations, and starts for September and October were revised up slightly. A solid report. I'll have more later ...