Building Permits Rise but Construction Slows

Building permits were issued at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 653,000 in October, 10.9 percent above the downwardly revised (from 594,000) September rate of 589,000.  This is 17.5 percent higher than the rate of 555,000 permits issued in October 2010.

Permits for single-family houses represented 434,000 of the permits, an increase of 5.1 percent over the revised September estimate of 413,000.  Permits for units in buildings with five or more units were issued at an annual rate of 202,000.

Construction began on privately-owned housing units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 628,000, 0.3 percent below the revised September estimate of 630,000 and 16.5 percent higher than the rate of 539,000 one year earlier.  September starts were originally estimated at 658,000.

Building Permits

Single-family housing starts were at an annual rate of 430,000, up 3.9 percent from the revised September figure of 414,000.  The annual rate of multi-family construction is 183,000 units.

Housing units were completed at a rate of 584,000, down 5.7 percent from September which was revised downward from 647,000 to 619,000 and 2.8 percent below the October 2010 rate of 601,000.

On a regional basis, the South saw a surge of 21.5 percent in authorized permits in September and an increase of 30.1 percent from one year earlier.  The West was also up, 5.4 percent month-to-month and 24.5 percent year-to-year.  The Northeast was down 1.6 percent since September and 3.1 percent from one year earlier and the Midwest had a change of -3.7 percent and -7.2 percent for the two periods.

The Northeast had the greatest increase in starts, up 17.2 percent from September but down a nearly identical amount from one year earlier.  The Midwest saw an increase of 9.7 percent from September and 7.4 percent annually and starts in the South increased 1.6 percent since last month and 23 percent from one year earlier.  The West, while dropping 16.2 percent from September, remained 36.1 percent above levels a year earlier.

There are 419,000 privately-owned housing units under construction nationally; 236,000 single-family units and 173,000 units in buildings with five units or more.  The South accounts for 171,000 of the total and 63 percent or 109,000 of the multi-family units.  Eighty-eight thousand units are under construction in the Northeast, 97,000 in the West and 63,000 in the Midwest.

There are 76,100 permits that have been issued nationally but under which construction has not yet begun.  More than half (39,200) of these permits are located in the South.

Housing Starts