Housing starts dipped 4.7% in September compared with August – in part due to the impact from hurricanes Harvey and Irma – but were up 6.1% compared with September 2016, according to estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.127 million, down from 1.183 million in August but up from 1.062 million in September 2016, according to the report.
Starts of single-family homes in September were at a rate of about 829,000, a decrease of 4.6% compared with a revised estimate of about 869,000 in August. Starts of multifamily units (five units or more per building) were at a rate of about 286,000, a decrease of 6.2% compared with about 305,000 in August.
Building permits were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 1.215 million, a decrease of 4.5% compared with a revised rate of about 1.272 million in August and a decrease of 4.3% compared with about 1.27 million in September 2016.
Permits for single-family homes were at a rate of about 819,000, an increase of 2.4% compared with a revised estimate of about 800,000 in August. Permits for multifamily units were at a rate of about 360,000, a decrease of 17.4% compared with about 436,000 in August.
“We are seeing the hurricanes take a toll on single-family production, but builder confidence is strong and production should bounce back as the recovery process gets underway,” says Granger MacDonald, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), in a statement.
”Looking at historical data, there is a pattern of decreased production immediately following natural disasters but economic fundamentals will drive the longer-term trend in housing starts,” adds Michael Neal, senior economist with NAHB. “Nationwide single-family permits are up this month, and year-to-date single-family starts are 9.1 percent ahead of their level over the same period last year – two indicators that this sector continues to improve.”
Regionally, combined single-family and multifamily housing production rose 15.7% in the West. However, starts fell 9.2% in the Northeast, 9.3% in the South and 20.2% in the Midwest.
Regionally, permits increased 9.2% in the Northeast and 0.5% in the Midwest, but fell 5.6% in the South and 9.2% in the West.