Global| Dec 20 2011U.S. Housing Starts Rise With Multi-Family Strength
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Housing activity firmed last month. The level of housing starts overall rose to 685,000 (AR) during November from 627,000 in October, revised down from 628,000 reported last month. Overall starts have risen 20.6% from the low of Q4'10 [...]
Housing activity firmed last month. The level of housing starts overall rose to 685,000 (AR) during November from 627,000 in October, revised down from 628,000 reported last month. Overall starts have risen 20.6% from the low of Q4'10 and the latest beat expectations for 630,000 units.
Starts of multi-family units led last month's improvement with a one-quarter m/m rise to 238,000, the highest level since September 2008. Starts of single-family homes rose to 447,000 units from an upwardly revised 437,000 in October. The increase pulled the level 26.6% above the recession low. However, starts still were down from early-last year when activity rose due to the first-time home buyers tax credit. By region, housing starts rose across the country except the Midwest.
Building permits rose 5.7% (20.7% y/y) to 681,000 and added to the slightly revised 9.3% October increase. Permits were the highest since October 2008. Single-family starts rose 1.6% and were up 3.6% y/y. Multi-family permits rose 13.9% and were nearly three-quarters above one year ago.
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 | Y/Y % | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 685 | 627 | 646 | 24.3 | 585 | 554 | 900 |
| Single-Family | 447 | 437 | 422 | -0.5 | 471 | 442 | 616 |
| Multi-Family | 238 | 190 | 224 | 145.4 | 114 | 112 | 284 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 100 | 65 | 59 | 28.2 | 72 | 61 | 120 |
| Midwest | 90 | 110 | 98 | -16.7 | 98 | 95 | 134 |
| South | 332 | 319 | 327 | 24.3 | 296 | 281 | 451 |
| West | 163 | 133 | 162 | 66.3 | 120 | 117 | 195 |
| Building Permits | 681 | 644 | 589 | 20.7 | 603 | 582 | 896 |
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.
