Housing Starts Up in October but Completions Were Down and Building Permits Unchanged from September

The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that privately‐owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1.530,000. This is 4.9% above the revised September estimate of 1,459,000 and is 14.2% above the October 2019 rate. Single-family housing starts in October were at a rate of 1,179,000; and this is 6.4% above the revised September figure. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 334,000. 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 1,545,000. Basically, unchanged from the revised September rate of 1,545,000 but is 2.8% above the October 2019 rate. Single-family authorizations in October were at a rate of 1,120,000; this is 0.6 % above the October 2019 figure. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 365,000. Privately-owned housing completions in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,343,000. This is -4.5% below the revised September estimate of 1,406,000, but is 5.4% above the October 2019 rate. Single-family housing completions in October were at a rate of 883,000; this is -3.4% below the revised September rate of 914,000. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 444,000.