Housing Starts See 6.5% Increase

The U.S Census Bureau said privately-owned housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,206,000, 6.5% above the revised August estimate of 1,132,000 and 17.5% above the September 2014 rate of 1,026,000. Single-family housing starts in September were at a rate of 740,000, 0.3% above the revised August figure of 738,000. The September rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 454,000, a 17% increase.

“Despite the modest month-over-month differentials in single-family production, this sector has shown gradual improvement throughout 2015,” said David Crowe, chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), Washington, D.C., in a press release. “Since January, single-family starts are up 11% and we anticipate a similar pace for the rest of this year.”