by Calculated Risk on 1/09/2026 09:59:00 AM
From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions
Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,246,000. This is 4.6 percent below the revised September estimate of 1,306,000 and is 7.8 percent below the October 2024 rate of 1,352,000. Single-family housing starts in October were at a rate of 874,000; this is 5.4 percent above the revised September figure of 829,000. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 347,000.Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,412,000. This is 0.2 percent below the revised September rate of 1,415,000 and is 1.1 percent below the October 2024 rate of 1,428,000. Single-family authorizations in October were at a rate of 876,000; this is 0.5 percent below the revised September figure of 880,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 481,000 in October.
emphasis added
Click on graph for larger image.
The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts since 2000.
Multi-family starts (blue, 2+ units) decreased month-over-month in October. Multi-family starts were down 7.9% year-over-year.
Single-family starts (red) increased in October and were down 7.8% year-over-year.
The second graph shows single and multi-family housing starts since 1968.
Total housing starts in October were well below expectations. We are still missing data for November due to the government shutdown.
I’ll have more later …
