US Housing Starts, Permits, and Completions All Lower Month-Over-Month in October

The US Census Bureau reported on Thursday (11-17-22) that privately‐owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,425,000. This is 4.2% below the revised September estimate of 1,488,000 and 8.8% below the October 2021 rate of 1,563,000. Single-family housing starts in October were at a rate of 855,000; this is 6.1% below the revised September figure of 911,000. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 556,000.

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 1,526,000. This is 2.4% below the revised September rate of 1,564,000 and 10.1% below the October 2021 rate of 1,698,000. Single-family authorizations in October were at a rate of 839,000; this is 3.6% below the revised September figure of 870,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 633,000.

Privately‐owned housing completions in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,339,000. This is 6.4% below the revised September estimate of 1,431,000 but is 6.6% above the October 2021 rate of 1,256,000. Single‐family housing completions in October were at a rate of 961,000; this is 8.3% below the revised September rate of 1,048,000. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 362,000.