Washington, DC, October 19, 2005--New housing starts in September rose 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 2.108 million, according to a Commerce Department report.
Economists had forecast starts reaching an annual rate of 1.970 million during the month.
Building permits during the month increased 2.4%, a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.189 million, the highest in 32 years.
Starts of single-family homes rose 2.6% to 1.747 million, while single-family building permits increased 4.4% to a record 1.749 million.
Despite the disruption of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, housing starts grew 6.9% in the South to 981,000. Starts increased by 1.9% in the Midwest and were flat in the Northeast and West.
Continued low mortgage rates and strong price appreciation have kept the housing market hot this year. Industry groups are estimating another banner year for construction and sales, although some anecdotal reports indicate that some local markets are cooling.
