Housing Starts Led by Single-Family

As housing demand returns, the pipeline of new homes may be difficult to resupply, especially with builders continuing to be denied construction loans.
Courtesy of Buying Bad Loans

The improved builder outlook was reflected in September’s construction activity by a 4.4 percent increase in single-family housing starts to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 452,000 units. Meanwhile, single-family permits remained virtually unchanged nationally and on a regional basis fell only in the South.

Multifamily construction in September was down, registering declines of almost 10 percent in starts and 20 percent in permits. This followed an unusually high level of activity in the preceding month. This series is often volatile. The three-month moving average of multifamily units was up 18 percent in September and has risen for three consecutive months, suggesting an improving environment for multifamily construction.

Completions were up 7.3 percent in September, their second consecutive monthly increase as builders continued to bring their inventories to market. However, single-family homes under construction fell in September for the fifth straight month, declining to the extremely low rate of 269,000 units — a new record low for data that first started being collected in 1970.

– Courtesy of NAHB