From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions
Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,290,000. This is 13.7 percent above the revised September estimate of 1,135,000, but is 2.9 percent below the October 2016 rate of 1,328,000. Single-family housing starts in October were at a rate of 877,000; this is 5.3 percent above the revised September figure of 833,000. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 393,000.Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,297,000. This is 5.9 percent above the revised September rate of 1,225,000 and is 0.9 percent above the October 2016 rate of 1,285,000. Single-family authorizations in October were at a rate of 839,000; this is 1.9 percent above the revised September figure of 823,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 416,000 in October.
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) increased in October compared to Septeber. However Multi-family starts are down year-over-year.
Multi-family is volatile month-to-month, but has been mostly moving down recently.
Single-family starts (blue) increased in October, and are up slightly 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 October were above expectations. Starts for August and September were revised down slightly, combined.
I’ll have more later …