Global| Dec 16 2014U.S. Housing Starts & Building Permits Ease
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Housing starts during November declined 1.6% to 1.028 million (AR, +7.5% y/y) from 1.045 million in October, revised from 1.009 million. The latest figure roughly matched expectations for 1.025 million starts in the Action Economics [...]
Housing starts during November declined 1.6% to 1.028 million (AR, +7.5% y/y) from 1.045 million in October, revised from 1.009 million. The latest figure roughly matched expectations for 1.025 million starts in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Starts in the single-family sector declined 5.4% to 677,000 units (-6.3% y/y) following October's 8.0% rise to 716,000. Starts in the multi-family sector increased 6.7% (-9.4% y/y) to 351,000 following a 9.9% decline to 329,000.
Regionally, starts rose 28.1% in the West (29.9% y/y) to 278,000 and in the Midwest rose 14.4% to 183,000 (-15.3% y/y). In the Northeast starts increased 8.7% (21.6% y/y) to 113,000 but starts were down 19.5% to 454,000 in the South (-23.9% y/y).
Permits to build new homes declined 5.2% to 1.035 million (-5.0% y/y) and reversed October's increase. Multi-family permits fell 11.0% to 396,000 (-3.7% y/y) while single-family permits eased 1.2% to 639,000 (-5.9% y/y).
The housing starts figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure is contained in the AS1REPNA database.
| Housing Starts (000s, SAAR) | Nov | Oct | Sep | Nov Y/Y % | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1,028 | 1,045 | 1,028 | 7.5 | 930 | 784 | 612 |
| Single-Family | 677 | 716 | 663 | -6.3 | 621 | 537 | 434 |
| Multi-Family | 351 | 329 | 365 | -9.4 | 309 | 247 | 178 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 113 | 104 | 109 | 21.6 | 96 | 80 | 68 |
| Midwest | 183 | 160 | 173 | -15.3 | 149 | 128 | 103 |
| South | 454 | 564 | 503 | -23.9 | 467 | 400 | 309 |
| West | 278 | 217 | 243 | 29.9 | 217 | 175 | 132 |
| Building Permits | 1,035 | 1,092 | 1,031 | -5.0 | 990 | 829 | 624 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
More Economy in Brief
