Housing starts in October rose 3.8% from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,314,000, 8.5% above the October 2018 rate of 1,211,000, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced Tuesday.
Single‐family housing starts in October were at a rate of 936,000, 2.0% above the revised September figure of 918,000 and 8.2% ahead of October, 2018. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 362,000, up from 339,000 in September and 327,000 a year earlier.
Housing units authorized by building permits in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,461,000, 5.0% above the revised September rate of 1,391,000 and 14.1% above the October 2018 rate of 1,281,000. Single‐family authorizations in October were at a rate of 909,000, 3.2% above the revised September figure of 881,000 and 7.4% ahead of October a year earlier. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 505,000 in October, up from 476,000 a month earlier and 396,000 a year earlier.
Housing completions in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,256,000, 10.3% above the revised September estimate of 1,139,000 and 12.4% above the October 2018 rate of 1,117,000. Single‐family housing completions in October were at a rate of 897,000, 4.5% above the revised September rate of 858,000.
Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, liked what he saw in today's report. “Tremendously good news for the housing sector: the issuance of housing permits booming ahead to their highest level in over a decade," said Yun. "At 1.46 million units on an annualized basis, housing permits are nearly to the level needed for the country over the long haul. Since new home construction kicks off the chain reaction of people trading-up and trading-down by buying new and selling their existing homes, more housing inventory will surely show up in the market next year.
"Permits are just paper, while housing starts are shovels in the ground — and permits generally lead starts," Yun continued. "At the moment housing starts have made a gain, though not as dramatically. At 1.31 million units in October, they are still a bit light compared to the demand for housing. Directionally though, it is still good news as these October figures are 8.5% higher than a year ago. This growth is also contributing to broader GDP growth and therefore diminishes the chances of an economic recession in 2020. Let’s root for even greater production in the upcoming months.”
