Steel Markets

Housing Starts and Permits Jump in October

November 19, 2019

Housing starts grew 3.8 percent from September to October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,314,000 and rose 8.5 percent from October 2018, according to the latest report from the Commerce Department and U.S. Housing and Urban Development. Single-family housing starts were up 2 percent from September and housing starts in buildings of five units or more grew 6.8 percent.

New home “Thanks to lower mortgage interest rates, the seasonally adjusted annual pace of single-family permits has been rising since April, the rate of single-family starts has been increasing since May, and the 3-month moving average for single-family construction is at a post-recession high,” said National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist Robert Dietz.

On a regional basis, single-family starts were down 14 percent year-over-year in the Northeast, down 8 percent in the West, down 6 percent in the Midwest and up 5 percent in the South. Dietz attributed the regional differences to land availability and cost.

Permit authorizations grew 5 percent from September to a SAAR of 1,461,000 and 14.1 percent year-over-year. Single-family permits increased 3.2 percent from the previous month, while multi-unit permits rose 6.1 percent.

On a year-to-date basis, permits were 9.2 percent higher in the Northeast and 5.2 percent higher in the South, but were down 5 percent in the Midwest and 1.4 percent in the West.

“Single-family permits have been increasing since April, and single-family starts have been rising since May as the home construction rebound continues,” said Dietz. “We expect additional single-family growth as areas beyond the exurbs respond to for-sale housing demand and healthy labor markets.”