Housing starts see big jump in October

Housing starts across the country increased 25.5 percent in October.

Seasonally adjusted, the annual rate is 1.32 million units, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department and the National Association of Home Builders. Single-family home starts have hit their highest level in nine years, since October 2007. Multi-family home starts have increased 68.8 percent from September.

“These robust figures correlate with strong builder optimism in the housing market,” said Ed Brady, chairman of NAHB. “A firming job market, a growing economy and rising household formations will keep the housing recovery on track into next year.”

According to NAHB, single-family home starts increased 10.7 percent in October, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 869,000, and multi-family housing starts increased to 454,000. Across the country, both single-family and multi-family home starts increased significantly. In the Northeast, starts increased 44.8 percent, while the Midwest saw an increase of 44.1 percent. The South rose 17. 9 percent, while the West increased 23.2 percent.

“Multifamily production bounced back after an unusually weak reading last month while single-family starts exhibited unusually strong growth as well,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Though October’s single- and multifamily production rates are clearly unsustainable, we expect continued growth in the housing sector in the months ahead.”

Additionally, permits issued increased .3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.23 million. Single-family permits saw an increase of 2.7 percent, up to 762,000, but multi-family permits decreased 3.3 percent to 467,000. Issuing of permits increased in the Midwest and the West, but decreased in the South and Northeast.