From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions
Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,090,000. This is 18.7 percent below the revised October estimate of 1,340,000 and is 6.9 percent below the November 2015 rate of 1,171,000.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 259,000.
Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,201,000. This is 4.7 percent below the revised October rate of 1,260,000 and is 6.6 percent below the November 2015 estimate of 1,286,000.Single-family authorizations in November were at a rate of 778,000; this is 0.5 percent above the revised October figure of 774,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 384,000 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 (red, 2+ units) decreased in November compared to October. Multi-family starts are down sharply year-over-year.
Multi-family is volatile, and the swings have been huge over the last three months.
Single-family starts (blue) decreased in November, and are up 5% year-over-year.
The second graph shows total and single unit starts since 1968.
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 well below expectations due to the sharp decrease in multi-family starts. However September and October were revised up, combined. I’ll have more later …