U.S. Housing Starts Fall 5.2% in September to 1.22 Million Rate: Single-Family Starts Drop 4.6%
The U.S. Department of Commerce's Census Bureau released September new residential construction data in Washington on October 20. Housing starts fell 5.2 percent from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.22 million units, the lowest level since May, while building permits, a gauge of future construction, edged down 0.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.40 million units.
Single-family starts, which account for the bulk of homebuilding, dropped 4.6 percent to a rate of 859,000 units, and multifamily starts fell 7.2 percent to 349,000 units. Single-family permits decreased 4.0 percent to 845,000 units, while multifamily permits rose 5.9 percent to 503,000 units. Regionally, starts slumped in the West and Midwest, were flat in the Northeast, and rose modestly in the South.
According to Freddie Mac, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 7.40 percent last week, the highest in nearly three years. A National Association of Home Builders survey released on October 19 showed single-family builder sentiment plunged in October to its lowest level since June 2012, with the NAHB citing rising material costs and mortgage rates, more expensive diesel, and worsening labor conditions amid an immigration crackdown. The Census Bureau's next new residential construction release is scheduled for November 18.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 密歇根州 Pittsfield Township 一处在建独栋住宅，Dwight Burdette 摄，CC BY 3.0（Wikimedia Commons）
