Regional housing starts: Gains in the Northeast
There latest residential construction tally from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development revealed some ho-hum growth numbers from a national perspective. Total starts were down 0.5 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively, on a monthly and annual basis.
But look how the Northeast surged—Total housing starts were up 57.9 percent from August and up 109.3 percent from a year ago.
Here's the interactive chart with the regional details for starts, single-family starts and housing permits:
Across the United States, there was more activity in the single-family market than multi-family market. Single-fam starts were up 2.7 percent for the month, and up 5.5 percent for the year.
At the National Assocation of Hombe Builders, mortgage rates continue to dominate the analysis.
“While single-family home building increased in September, higher mortgage interest rates in October are likely to place a damper on growth in next month’s data,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Nonetheless, NAHB is forecasting a gradual, if uneven, decline for mortgage rates in the coming quarters, with corresponding increases for single-family construction. Multifamily construction will remain weak as completions of apartments are elevated.”
On a year-to-date basis, single-family construction is up 10.1%.
"Single-family construction increased in September, mirroring NAHB’s survey of builder confidence,” said Carl Harris, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and custom home builder from Wichita, Kan. “In the long-run, the most effective way to tackle the nation’s housing affordability crisis is to increase the housing supply. And as the election looms, policymakers need to be focused on the supply-side of the market to let builders build.”
