WASHINGTON (MNI) - The pace of housing starts rose to a 1.017 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in September, while building permits rebounded to a 1.018 million annual rate, the Commerce Department reported Friday morning.
The pace of starts was ahead of the 1.000 million rate expected in an MNI survey of economists, and followed a modest upward revision to the rate in August and a downward revision to the rate in July,
though both months remained above 1 million.
Housing starts of single-family homes rose 1.1% in September, while starts of multi-family homes rose 16.7%, based on an MNI calculation. Starts were up in all four regions of the country, led by 13.9% gain in the West.
Building permits were more mixed, with single-family permits down 0.5%, while multi-family permits rose 4.8%. Permits were up in Northeast, Midwest, and West, but fell by 4.7% in the large South region.
Completions rose 8.6% in September, with gains both single-family and multi-family dwellings. Completions rose in the Northeast, Midwest and South regions, but fell in the West.
Home permitted but not started fell 0.8% in September, but should rebound in October due to the rise in permits. Homes under construction rose 0.4%, owing to the strong pace of starts in recent months.
Both starts and permits were up in the third quarter from the second quarter, maintaining the upward track. Single-family starts and permits were also up on average in the third quarter.
