Housing starts decreased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.127 million in September, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The decline was 4.7% below the upwardly revised August rate of 1.183 million but is 6.1% above the September 2016 rate. Single-family home starts fell 4.6% from last month.
Housing activity decreased in three of the four regions as the Northeast, Midwest and South declined 9.2%, 20.2% and 9.3%, respectively. The West was the lone region to see an increase, rising 15.7%.
New building permits decreased during the month, falling 4.5% to 1.215 million. However, single-family authorizations in September were 2.4% above August’s figure. New building permits were down 4.3% from the September 2016 rate.
Housing completions were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.109 million, up 1.1% from the revised August estimate and 10.3% above the September 2016 rate.
Read the Census release.
