After optimists talked up rising housing starts for several months as green shoots, improving conditions, etc., reality came knocking in full force with the New Residential Construction Report For October 2009.



BUILDING PERMITS



Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 552,000. This is 4.0 percent below the revised September rate of 575,000 and is 24.3 percent below the October 2008 estimate of 729,000.



Single-family authorizations in October were at a rate of 451,000; this is 0.2 percent below the revised September figure of 452,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 85,000 in October.



HOUSING STARTS



Privately-owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529,000. This is 10.6 percent below the revised September estimate of 592,000 and is 30.7 percent below the October 2008 rate of 763,000.



Single-family housing starts in October were at a rate of 476,000; this is 6.8 percent below the revised September figure of 511,000. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 48,000.



HOUSING COMPLETIONS



Privately-owned housing completions in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 740,000. This is 1.9 percent above the revised September estimate of 726,000, but is 29.9 percent below the October 2008 rate of 1,055,000.



Single-family housing completions in October were at a rate of 528,000; this is 10.7 percent above the revised September figure of 477,000. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 200,000.

Total Privately Owned Housing Starts

Builders Probably Broke Ground on Most U.S. Houses in 11 Months

Builders in October probably broke ground on U.S. houses at the fastest pace in 11 months, and consumer prices held below the Federal Reserve’s long-range goal, economists said reports today may show.



Housing starts rose 1.7 percent to an annual rate of 600,000, the most since November 2008, according to the median forecast of 77 economists in a Bloomberg News survey.



Government tax credits and lower prices and borrowing costs may spur residential sales and construction in coming months, indicating housing will help the economy recover.



“Housing is starting to turn,” said Michael Moran, chief economist at Daiwa Securities America Inc. in New York.

Housing Starts Forecast

Who Wants A House?

Privately Owned Housing Starts 5-Unit Structures or More

“Housing is starting to turn,” said Michael Moran, chief economist at Daiwa Securities America Inc. in New York.