Single-Family Housing Starts Perk Up

By:
Kara Johnson | December 17, 2010

Single-family housing starts picked up in November, rising nearly 7 percent to their highest rate in six months, according to new figures from the Census Bureau.

Private construction starts on single-family homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 465,000, up from a revised figure of 435,000 in October. It was the highest rate for single-family housing starts since last April, just prior to the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit, when the rate topped out at 563,000, the highest figure reported this year.
 
On an annual basis, the figure is down nearly 8 percent from the Nov. 2009 figure of 504,000.
 
Newly issued building permits for single-family homes also increased during the month, rising 3.0 percent to an annual rate of 416,000. The figure represents a nearly 15 percent decline from the Nov. 2009 rate of 489,000.
 
Meanwhile, construction starts on multi-unit residences fell again in November, following a big plunge the month before. Construction starts on condominium and apartment-type structures of five units or more fell to an annual rate of 72,000 units, down from 86,000 in October and less than half of the 148,000 rate reported in September.
 
Multi-unit building rates tend to be volatile, with high margins of error in the figures, but a second straight month of depressed starts following elevated figures last summer suggests that a significant slowdown is occurring.

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