Economy
October US housing starts inch higher but remain down on-year
Written by Laura Miller
November 21, 2023
US housing starts crept higher for a second consecutive month in October. Starts were lower, however, than the same month last year, according to the most recent data from the US Census Bureau.
Total privately owned housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of (SAAR) of 1.372 million in September, a 1.2% rise over the revised September estimate of 1.346 million, Census said. Compared to October 2022, starts were down 4.2%.
While single-family starts of 970,000 in October crept up by just 0.2% from the month prior, multi-family starts saw a 6.3% month-on-month (MoM) rise.
Regionally, the Midwest and West saw positive MoM growth, with starts rising by 28.4 and 12.4%, respectively. Starts were down 14.4% in the Northeast and 6.8% in the South.
On a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis, year-on-year growth in single-family starts was up 8.1% in October. October was the third month in a row to see positive YoY growth. Prior to that, growth had been negative for 13 months. Growth in multi-family starts is down 35%—that’s the lowest rate of growth since 2021.
“Despite higher interest rates in October, the lack of existing home inventory supported demand for new construction in the fall,” Alicia Huey, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), said in a statement.
“The construction data in October continue to reflect that despite multi-decade lows for housing affordability, the market continues to lack attainable inventory that only the home-building industry can provide,” added NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz.
The NAHB predicts increases in single-family home building in the coming months and “an outright gain for construction in 2024.”
Laura Miller
Read more from Laura MillerLatest in Economy
CRU: Will US tariff policy be transactional or transformational?
The Trump 1.0 tariffs appeared to have little positive effect on the US manufacturing, partly because they hurt export competitiveness.
Beige Book finds mixed demand trends, tariff concerns
Manufacturing activity exhibited slight to modest increases across a majority of districts. However, manufacturers expressed concerns over the potential impact of looming trade policy changes between late January and February.
Construction spending drops marginally in January
Construction spending edged down slightly in January, slipping for the first time in four months. The US Census Bureau estimated spending at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,196 billion in January, down 0.2% from December’s downward revised rate. The January figure is 3.3% higher than a year ago. January’s result, despite the slight erosion, […]
ISM: Manufacturing expansion slowed in February
The Manufacturing PMI registered 50.3% in February. That’s 0.6 percentage points lower compared to the 50.9% recorded in January.
Chicago Business Barometer up but still pointing to weak conditions
The Chicago Business Barometer rose to an eight-month high in February. Despite the recovery, the measure continues to indicate deteriorating business conditions, as it has for over a year.