Housing starts illustrated in three charts

Housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,547,000, the highest rate since February. 

Here are three charts that capture the highlights of the U.S. Census Bureau report released Thursday morning:

Single-family starts, which hit a pace of 1,186,000, set the highest mark since all the way back to April 2007. 

Building permits also gained ground in November. Permits were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,639,000. That's up 6.2% above October, and up 8.5% above the November 2019 rate.

On a regional basis, and compared to November of 2019, the Northeast saw the largest percent gain in total starts, while the West recorded the largest jump in single-family starts. Here are the numbers

• Northeast
Total starts: up 27.4%
Single fam: down 9.2%

• Midwest
Total starts: up 15.3%
Single fam: up 24.5%

• South
Total starts: up 9.0%
​​​​​​​Single fam: up 29.4%

• West
Total starts: up 15.3%
​​​​​​​Single fam: up 33.2%