Privately owned housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.772 million. This is 5.9 percent above the revised August estimate of 1.674 million, but is 17.9 percent below the September 2005 rate of 2.158 million.

Single-family housing starts in September were at a rate of 1.426 million; this is 4.3 percent above the August figure of 1.367 million. The September rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 314,000.

?EUR??,,????'??While today?EUR??,,????'???s report showed that some real strength remains in the national housing market, all of the increase in housing starts was registered in the South and Midwest, where relatively good weather conditions apparently encouraged builders to draw down their backlogs of unused permits,?EUR??,,????'?? noted National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Chief Economist David Seiders.

Regionally, starts rose 14 percent and 3.4 percent in the South and Midwest, respectively, but fell 14.1 percent and 2.2 percent in the Northeast and West, respectively.

Privately owned housing completions in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.084 million. This is 11.1 percent above the revised August estimate of 1.875 million and is 7.2 percent above the September 2005 rate of 1.944 million.

Single-family housing completions in September were at a rate of 1.732 million; this is 7.1 percent above the August figure of 1.617 million. The September rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 316,000.

Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.619 million. This is 6.3 percent below the revised August rate of 1.727 million and is 27.7 percent below the September 2005 estimate of 2.240 million.

Single-family authorizations in September were at a rate of 1.207 million; this is six percent below the August figure of 1.284 million. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 342,000 in September.