New Residential Construction: Housing Starts, Building Permits Beat Highest Forecasts

The New Residential Construction report by the U.S. Census Bureau showed housing starts and building permits posted extremely strong gains in October.

Building Permits (Forecast: 1,125,000)

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in October came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,297,000, 5.9% (±1.4%) higher than the revised September rate of 1,225,000 and 0.9% (±1.6%)* higher than the rate of 1,285,000 a year ago. Single-family authorizations in October were at a rate of 839,000; this is 1.9% (±1.7%) higher than the revised September figure of 823,000.

Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 416,000 in October.

Housing Starts (Forecast: 1,190,000)

Privately-owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,290,000, a whopping 13.7% (±10.5%) higher than the revised estimate of 1,135,000 in September. However, it is 2.9% (±10.1%)* lower than the October 2016 rate of 1,328,000. Single-family housing starts in October came in at a rate of 877,000, or 5.3% (±12.1%) higher than the revised September figure of 833,000.

The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 393,000.

Housing Completions

Privately-owned housing completions in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,232,000, or 12.6% (±12.2%) higher than the revised September estimate of 1,094,000. It’s 15.5% (±11.7 percent) above the October 2016 rate of 1,067,000. Single-family housing completions in October were at a rate of 793,000, or 2.6% (±11.1 percent) higher than the revised September rate of 773,000.

The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 433,000.