Housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 1.323 million in October – an increase of 25.5% compared with a revised estimate of 1.054 million in September and an increase of 23.3% compared with about 1.073 million in October 2015, according to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Most of the increase was driven by a major spike in the number of starts of multifamily homes.
Starts of single-family homes were at a rate of about 869,000, an increase of 10.7% compared with about 785,000 in September. Starts of multifamily homes (five units or more per building) were at a rate of about 445,000 – up a surprising 74.5% compared with about 225,000 in September.
Building permits in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.229 million, an increase of 0.3% compared with the revised rate of about 1.225 million in September and an increase of 4.6% compared with about 1.175 million in October 2015.
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