Mortgage News Daily
All three of the residential construction measures tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development roared back in October after posting terrible numbers in September. Construction permits and housing starts moved significantly higher and completions, although driven largely by the multi-family sector, were especially strong.
Housing permits were issued at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,461,000 units, up 5.0 percent from the revised September rate of 1,391,000. The revision was a slight upgrade from the 1,387,000 units originally reported which had marked a 2.7 percent decline from August. The October permitting rate was 14.1 percent higher than the 1,281,000-unit pace in October 2018, and the highest reading since 2007.
The permitting number was well above any of the analysts’ predictions reported by Econoday. Those ranged from 1,262,000 to 1,360,000 with a consensus of 1,320,000 units.
