by Housing completions fall in November compared to 2022, but rise 5% over October
WASHINGTON — Housing construction appeared to begin making a turnaround in November as housing starts and building permits rose from the same period last year, according to figures released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Tuesday.
The number of housing starts in November totaled 1,560,000, up 9.3% from the 1,427,000 reported in November 2022, and up 14.8% above a revised October estimate of 1,359,000.
The number of building permits issued totaled 1,460,000, which was 4.1% above the November 2022 rate of 1,402,000, but 2.5% below the revised October rate of 1,498,000. Meanwhile, the number of housing completions totaled 1,447,000 in November, which was 5% above the revised October rate of 1,378,000, but 6.2% below the November rate of 1,543,000.
Single-family housing starts and building permits issued in November also made progress compared to October. Single-family housing starts rose 18% in November, to 1,143,000, compared to 969,000 in October, while building permits for single-family properties rose .7%, to 976,000 in November from 969,000 in October. Single-family housing completions in November totaled 960,000, down 3.2% from the revised October rate of 992,000.
The rates offer a glimpse of one of the major economic drivers for the furniture industry, as people moving into new homes typically buy new furniture. But much also depends on people’s ability to sell an existing property before moving into a new home. Those sales, too, have struggled for much of the past year or more.
By region, housing construction activity for the month of November was as follows:
+ In the Northeast, there were 144,000 housing units started in November, up 67.4% from the 86,000 started in November 2022 and up 100% from the 72,000 started in October. There were 84,000 permits issued in November, down 29.4% from the 119,000 issued in November 2022 and down 34.4% from the 128,000 issued in October. There were 103,000 units completed, down 52.8% from the 218,000 completed in November 2022 and flat from the 103,000 completed in October.
+ In the Midwest, there were 220,000 units started in November, down 7.9% from the 239,000 started in November 2022, but up 1.4% from the 217,000 issued in October. There were 191,000 building permits issued for residential properties, down 6.8% from the 205,000 issued in November 2022, but up 12.4% from the 170,000 issued in October. There were 178,000 units completed in the Midwest, down 9.6% from the 197,000 completed in November 2022, and up 4.7% from the 170,000 completed in October.
+ In the South, there were 849,000 residential units started in November, up 13.4% from the 749,000 started in November 2022 and up 16.3% from 730,000 in October. There were 795,000 residential building permits issued in the region, up 1.3% from the 785,000 issued in November 2022 and down 6.7% from the 852,000 issued in October. There were 874,000 residential units completed in the South, up 6.7% from the 819,000 completed in November 2022 and up 9.1% from the 801,000 completed in October.
+ In the West, there were 347,000 residential units started in November, down 1.7% from the 353,000 started in November 2022 but up 2.1% from the 340,000 started in October. There were 390,000 residential building permits issued in the region, up 33.1% from the 293,000 completed in November 2022 and up 12.1% from the 348,000 units completed in October.
