Housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 1.173 million – an increase of 10.5% compared with the revised October estimate of 1.062 million and an increase of 16.5% compared with the November 2014 rate of 1.007 million, according to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Starts of single-family homes were at an annual rate of about 768,000, an increase of 7.6% compared with the revised October figure of 714,000. Starts of multifamily homes were at an annual rate of about 398,000, an increase of 18.1% compared with an annual rate of about 337,000 in October.
Building permits in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,289 million, an increase of 11.0% compared with the revised October rate of 1.161 million and 19.5% compared with the November 2014 estimate of 1.079 million.
Permits for single-family homes were at a rate of about 723,000, an increase of 1.1% compared with the revised October estimate of 715,000. Permits for multifamily units were at a rate of about 539,000, an increase of 30.8% compared with about 412,000 in October.
Housing completions were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 947,000, an decrease of 3.2% compared with the revised October estimate of 978,000, but an increase of 9.2% compared with the November 2014 rate of about 867,000.
Completions of single-family homes were at a rate of 632,000, an increase of 0.3% compared with the revised October rate of 630,000. Completions of multifamily units reached an annual rate of about 306,000, a decrease of 10% compared with the October rate of about 340,000.
In a statement, officials with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) point out that the annual rate for starts of single-family homes in November was the highest its been since 2007.
‘The November gains in both single- and multifamily starts show that the overall market continues to move forward,’ says Tom Woods, chairman of NAHB. ‘As builders anticipate more consumer demand for housing, they should continue to add inventory.’
‘Single-family production this month has reached levels last seen before the Great Recession, an indicator that we are making gradual headway back to a normal housing market,’ adds David Crowe, chief economist for NAHB. ‘As we close out the year, we can see that the housing sector has made headway in 2015, and we expect the recovery to continue at a modest pace.’
Regionally, housing starts increased in the South and West, with gains of 21.3% and 6.3%, respectively. The Midwest was unchanged compared to October and the Northeast fell 8.5%.
Looking at permits on a regional basis, the Midwest, West and South posted gains of 22%, 21.7% and 5.6%, while the Northeast was basically flat compared with October.