Housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 1.090 million, a decrease of 18.7% compared with an estimated 1.34 million in October and a decrease of 6.9% compared with about 1.171 million in November 2015, according to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Most of the drop was in starts of multifamily homes, which saw a sharp increase in October compared with September.
Starts of single-family homes were at a rate of about 828,000, a decrease of 4.1% compared with about 863,000 in October. Starts of multifamily homes (five units or more per building) were at a rate of about 259,000, a decrease of 43.9% compared with 462,000 in October.
Building permits were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.201 million, a decrease of 4.7% compared with the revised rate of 1.260 million in October and a decrease of 6.6% compared with 1.286 million in November 2015.
Permits for single-family homes were at a rate of 778,000, an increase of 0.5% compared with 774,000 in October. Permits for multifamily homes were at a rate of 384,000, a drop of 15.8% compared with about 456,000 in October.
Housing completions, meanwhile, were up 15.4%, month over month, and were up 25.0% compared with November 2015.