Global| Oct 17 2012U.S. Housing Starts Surge To Highest Level Since 2008
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Last month builders began work on more new homes than in any month in four years. Total housing starts jumped 15.0% (34.8% y/y) to 872,000 (AR) from 758,000 during August, revised up from 750,000. Expectations had been for 770,000 [...]
Last month builders began work on more new homes than in any month in four years. Total housing starts jumped 15.0% (34.8% y/y) to 872,000 (AR) from 758,000 during August, revised up from 750,000. Expectations had been for 770,000 starts for September. Higher starts of multi-family homes led the increase with a one-quarter jump (19.6% y/y) to 269,000. Single-family starts followed with an 11.0% gain (42.9% y/y) to 603,000.
By region, starts in the West led the increase with a 20.1% rise (25.3% y/y) followed by a 19.9% gain (37.1% y/y) in the South. Starts in the Midwest rose 6.7% (47.4% y/y) but in the Northeast housing starts were off 5.1% (+27.1% y/y) and down for the second straight month.
Building permits increased 11.6% (45.1% y/y) to 894,000. Permits for multi-family homes surged 20.3% (85.6% y/y) while single-family permits increased 6.7% m/m (27.3% 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) | Sep | Aug | Jul | Y/Y% | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 872 | 758 | 728 | 34.8 | 612 | 586 | 554 |
| Single-Family | 603 | 543 | 506 | 42.9 | 434 | 471 | 442 |
| Multi-Family | 269 | 215 | 222 | 19.6 | 178 | 114 | 112 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 75 | 79 | 86 | 35.7 | 68 | 72 | 61 |
| Midwest | 143 | 134 | 111 | 47.4 | 103 | 97 | 95 |
| South | 451 | 376 | 348 | 37.1 | 309 | 296 | 281 |
| West | 203 | 169 | 183 | 25.3 | 131 | 120 | 117 |
| Building Permits | 894 | 801 | 811 | 45.1 | 624 | 604 | 582 |
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.
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