Housing Starts and Building Permits Rise, While Completions Fall in October

The US Census Bureau on Friday (11-17-23) reported that privately‐owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,372,000. This is 1.9% above the revised September estimate of 1,346,000 but 4.2% below the October 2022 rate of 1,432,000. Single-family housing starts were at a rate of 970,000; this is 0.2% above the revised September figure of 968,000. The rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 382,000.

Building permits are the forward-looking portion of the report, and in October, privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits were at a SAAR of 1,487,000. This is 1.1% above the revised September rate of 1,471,000 but 4.4% below the October 2022 rate of 1,555,000. Single-family authorizations were at a rate of 968,000; this is 0.5% above the revised September figure of 963,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 469,000.

Privately‐owned housing completions in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,410,000. This is 4.6% below the revised September estimate of 1,478,000 but 4.6% above the October 2022 rate of 1,348,000. Single‐family housing completions were at a rate of 993,000; this is 0.9% below the revised September rate of 1,002,000. The rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 408,000.