Ho Ho Ho! Housing Starts Go Up

Christmas may be little more than a week away, but the housing industry received an early gift via the new residential construction data released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD).

According to the latest statistics, single-family housing starts in November were at a rate of 768,000, which is 7.6 percent above the revised October figure of 714,000. Privately-owned housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,173,000, a 10.5 percent spike about the revised October estimate of 1,062,000 and a 16.5 percent surge above the November 2014 rate of 1,007,000.

Single-family authorizations in November were at a rate of 723,000, a 1.1 percent increase from the revised October figure of 715,000. Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,289,000, 11 percent higher than the revised October rate of 1,161,000 and 19.5 percent above the November 2014 estimate of 1,079,000.

The one downside in the data involved privately-owned housing completions in November, which were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 947,000, a 3.2 percent dip below the revised October estimate of 978,000—but, still, a 9.2 percent increase from the November 2014 rate of 867,000. Single-family housing completions in November were at a rate of 632,000, a scant 0.3 percent blip above the revised October rate of 630,000.