Housing Starts Up With Apartment Increase

Washington, DC, November 20, 2007—Housing starts rebounded in October, rising 3% an annual pace of 1.229 million units, which reflected a jump in the apartment sector, according to the Commerce Department. The increase in October starts followed an 11% drop in September.

Permits during the month were off 6.6% to a 1.178 million unit pace, hitting a 14-year low.

Economists had forecast starts at a 1.17 million pace and permits at a 1.2 million unit pace.

Starts of new single-family homes fell by 7.3% to 884,000. This is the seventh straight monthly decline. Completions of homes rose 1.9% to 1.44 million in October.

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Multifamily starts rose 44.4% in October to 345,000, reversing a 35.9% decline in September.

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For the 12-month period ended in October, housing starts were down 16.4%. Permits were down 24.5%. Starts are down 46.3% from the peak in January 2006.

Starts rose in three of four regions in October. Starts jumped 21.1% in the Midwest, rose 8.5% in the Northeast, and rose 5.8% in the West. Starts fell 4.6% in the South.