Global| Nov 17 2010U.S. Housing Starts Weaken Further
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Earlier signs of stability in the housing sector reversed during October. Housing starts fell 11.7% last month to 519,000 (AR) from a downwardly revised September level. The latest was the lowest since April of last year and starts [...]
Earlier signs of stability in the housing sector reversed during October.
Housing starts fell 11.7% last month to 519,000 (AR) from a downwardly revised
September level. The latest was the lowest since April of last year and starts
were down more than three-quarters from the peak in early-2006. The latest
figure was lower than Consensus expectations for 600,000 starts.
The decline reflected a 1.1% drop in starts of single-family homes to 436,000 from a downwardly revised September level. Starts of multi-unit units fell 43.5% to 83,000 from a September level that was revised down sharply. Starts of 2-to-4 unit structures, which are few in number, rose by half m/m (80.0% y/y) but starts with more than five units fell to the lowest since February (+51.0% y/y). Starts in the West fell most sharply with a one-third m/m decline followed by a 13.4% decline in the South. Starts in both the Northeast and the Midwest both rose moderately m/m as part of a sideways trend.
Working the other way, building permits rose very slightly m/m as part of the sideways trend in place since the spring. Stability in both single and multi-family units.
The housing starts figures can be found in Haver's USECON database.
| Housing Starts (000s,SAAR) | Oct | Sept | Aug | Oct Y/Y % | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 519 | 588 | 614 | -1.9 | 554 | 900 | 1,342 |
| Single-Family | 436 | 441 | 432 | -8.2 | 442 | 616 | 1,036 |
| Multi-Family | 83 | 147 | 182 | 53.7 | 112 | 284 | 306 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 79 | 70 | 75 | 43.6 | 61 | 120 | 143 |
| Midwest | 98 | 97 | 111 | -2.0 | 95 | 134 | 206 |
| South | 251 | 290 | 289 | -6.7 | 281 | 451 | 676 |
| West | 91 | 131 | 139 | -13.3 | 117 | 195 | 317 |
| Building Permits | 550 | 547 | 571 | -4.5 | 583 | 896 | 1,392 |
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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