Housing industry construction slowed in October, as starts and completions were both down, compared to September. The one upside was that building permits were up for the month.

After putting up good numbers in September, housing starts and completions dropped substantially in October, mainly because of weakness in the multifamily sector. But building permits rose, data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows, a sign that the housing market continues its positive road to recovery.

Starts
Private sector housing starts nosedived 11.0 percent to 1,060,000 units in October, compared to September's 1,191,000 starts. It is also 1.8 percent less than the October 2014 rate of 1,079,000. This compares to a 6.5 percent hike from August to September.

Separately, single-family home starts, at 722,000 units, were 2.4 percent below September's 740,000 units, but 2.4 percent higher year-to-year. The October rate for buildings with five units or more plummeted 25.5 percent to 327,000 units, compared to September. This is also a decline of 8.4 percent on a year-to-year basis.

Completions
There were 965,000 private sector housing completions in October, and this is 6.0 percent below September's 1,027,000 units. But it is 5.2 percent better than the 917,000 units of a year earlier. This compares to a 7.5 percent hike from August to September.

Single-family housing completions in October came in at 640,000 units, which is 0.5 percent less than September's 643,000 units. There were 318,000 buildings of five units or more constructed in October, and this represents a drop of 15.4 percent versus September, but a 6.4 percent year-to-year increase.

Permits
A total of 1,150,000 private sector building permits were authorized in October, a hike of 4.1 percent above September's 1,105,000 permits. It is also 2.7 percent better than the 1,120,000 permits in September 2014. This compares to a 5.0 percent decrease from August to September.

Permits for single-family homes alone amounted to 711,000, a 2.4 percent increase on a month-to-month basis, and a 9.0 percent improvement versus September 2014. There were 405,000 permits issued for buildings with five units or more, which is 8.3 percent higher than September, but down 7.1 percent year-to-year.

Overall Assessment
"This month's decline can be attributable to the volatile multifamily sector adjusting to trend after an unusually high September, as well as the storms and flooding affecting single-family production in the South," said David Crowe, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders.

Census Bureau data with regard to building permits, however, shows the housing market continues to gain strength and momentum.

"The fact that permits are rising is consistent with our builders' continued optimism in the housing market," said Tom Woods, chairman of the NAHB.

Even though starts dropped in October, this metric has stayed above the one million mark for seven straight months "?u the longest streak in almost seven years. Woods said.

Overall, the number of permits issued in October rose 4.1 percent to 1.15 million, according to the NAHB. Multifamily permits increased 6.8 percent, while permits authorized for single-family homes went up 2.4 percent.

Census Bureau
https://tinyurl.com/lrloxmn

National Association of Home Builders
https://tinyurl.com/pjncpqn

Construction Industry Input Prices Fall Again
Commodities regularly used by the construction industry fell on the Producer Price Index for the fourth straight month in October.

The PPI is also at its lowest level since the first quarter of 2011, the Associated Builders and Contractors said.

Prices for construction inputs dropped 0.2 percent from September to October, and have declined 4.6 percent on a year-to-year basis.

Among the key statistics:
• Crude petroleum prices expanded by 8.2 percent in October, but are down 43.6 percent from the same time last year.
• Crude energy materials grew by 3 percent on a monthly basis, but are still down 33.4 percent year-over-year.
• Iron and steel lost 4.4 percent month-over-month, and are also down 21.2 percent compared to October 2014.
• Nonferrous wire and cable increased by 0.1 percent on a monthly basis, but have fallen 7.4 percent from a year ago.
• Concrete products were unchanged from September, and have gone up 2.6 percent on a year-to-year basis.

Associated Builders and Contractors:
https://tinyurl.com/py48w8b