Housing Starts Jumped 15% in September

Privately-owned housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 658,000. This is 15.0 percent above the revised August estimate of 572,000 and is 10.2 percent above the September 2010 rate of 597,000. Single-family housing starts in September were at a rate of 425,000; this is 1.7 percent above the revised August figure of 418,000. The September rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 227,000.

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 594,000, down 5.0 percent from the August rate of 625,000, but 5.7 percent above the September 2010 estimate of 562,000.

Single-family housing completions in September were at a rate of 428,000, 11.6 percent below the August rate of 484,000.

New Privately Owned Housing Units Started

(Thousands of units, seasonally adjusted annual rate)

Period Total 1 Unit 5 Units or more Northeast Midwest South West September 2010 597 447 144 69 97 298 133 April 2011 549 411 124 60 96 274 119 May 2011 553 416 131 56 99 264 134 June 2011 615 449 160 68 126 288 133 July 2011 615 430 176 85 90 306 134 August 2011₂ 572 418 148 55 86 293 138 September 2011₁ 658 425 227 62 94 339 163

1-Preliminary; 2-Revised; Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census