Housing starts in the U.S. fell 3.0 percent from October to November, up 21.6 percent year-over-year as construction of structures with five or more units increased 1.4 percent (up 49.6 percent year-over-year) while single-family home starts fell 4.1 percent (up 22.8 percent year-over-year).
Single-family housing starts fell to 40,000 last month having averaged 87,400 a month since 1959, peaking at 170,400 in May of 2005 and measuring 150,700 that October. Starts for structures with five or more units fell to 23,700 last month having averaged 30,100 a month since 1963, peaking at 87,200 in May of 1973 and measuring 54,000 that October.
Total housing starts which measured 64,600 in November have averaged 122,500 a month since 1959, hitting 227,300 in early 2006 and peaking at 249,400 in early 1972.
On a year-over-year basis, permit activity to start construction was up 26.8 percent in November with applications for multi-family housing up 30.6 percent, up 26.8 percent for single-family homes.
In the west, starts were up 32.6 percent year-over-year, unchanged for single-family homes, while permit activity was up 46.6 percent, up 22.2 percent for single-family homes.
∙ New Residential Construction Statistics [doc.gov]
∙ U.S. Housing Starts Hit Four Year High But Remain Below Average [SocketSite]