by Calculated Risk on 10/20/2020 08:37:00 AM
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Housing Starts at 1.415 Million Annual Rate in September
From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions
Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,415,000. This is 1.9 percent above the revised August estimate of and is 11.1 percent above the September 2019 rate of 1,274,000. Single-family housing starts in September were at a rate of 1,108,000; this is 8.5 percent above the revised August figure of 1,021,000. The September rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 295,000.
Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,553,000. This is 5.2 percent above the revised August rate of 1,476,000 and is 8.1 percent above the September 2019 rate of 1,437,000. Single-family authorizations in September were at a rate of 1,119,000; this is 7.8 percent above the revised August figure of 1,038,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 390,000 in September.
emphasis added
The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts for the last several years.
Multi-family starts (red, 2+ units) were down in September compared to August. Multi-family starts were down 17% year-over-year in September.
Single-family starts (blue) increased in September, and were up 22% year-over-year.
The second graph shows the huge collapse following the housing bubble, and then eventual recovery (but still historically low).
Total housing starts in September were below expectations - due to weakness in multi-family - and starts in July and August were revised down.
I'll have more later …