By
Housing starts edged lower last month as average monthly mortgage rates increased a quarter-point from 6.18% to 6.43% between September and October, according to Freddie Mac.
Overall housing starts decreased 3.1% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.31 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
The October reading of 1.31 million starts is the number of housing units builders would begin if development kept this pace for the next 12 months. Within this overall number, single-family starts decreased 6.9% to a 970,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate. On a year-to-date basis, single-family construction is up 9.3%. The volatile multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, increased 9.6% to an annualized 341,000 pace but are down 29.3% on a year-to-date basis.
“Although housing starts declined in October, builder sentiment improved for a third straight month in November as builders anticipate an improved regulatory environment in 2025 that will allow the industry to increase housing supply,” said Carl Harris, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and custom home builder from Wichita, Kan.
