Single Family Housing Starts Reach Seven Year High in U.S.

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According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department, U.S. housing starts nationwide rose 10.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.173 million units in November.
 
Single-family production increased 7.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 768,000 units, its highest reading since January 2008. Multifamily production rose 16.4 percent to 405,000 units.

"The November gains in both single- and multifamily starts show that the overall market continues to move forward," said NAHB Chairman Tom Woods, a home builder from Blue Springs, Mo. "As builders anticipate more consumer demand for housing, they should continue to add inventory."

"Single-family production this month has reached levels last seen before the Great Recession, an indicator that we are making gradual headway back to a normal housing market," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "As we close out the year, we can see that the housing sector has made headway in 2015, and we expect the recovery to continue at a modest pace."

Combined single- and multifamily starts rose in the South and West, with respective gains of 21.3 and 6.3 percent. The Midwest was unchanged and the Northeast fell 8.5 percent.

Overall permit issuance rose 11 percent to 1.289 million units in November. Multifamily permits rose 26.9 percent to a rate of 566,000 while single-family permits increased 1.1 percent to 723,000, the highest level since December 2007.

Regionally, the Midwest, South and West posted respective permit gains of 22 percent, 5.6 percent and 21.7 percent. Permit levels in the Northeast held steady.