Housing Construction Surges in November

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 681,000, 5.7% above the revised October rate of 644,000 and 20.7% above the November 2010 estimate of 564,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Single-family authorizations in November were at a rate of 435,000; 1.6% above the revised October figure of 428,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 224,000, 16.1% above November.

Housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000, 9.3 percent above October's revised estimate of 627,000 and 24.3 percent above the Nov. 2010 rate of 551,000. Single-family housing starts in November were at a rate of 447,000; 2.3 percent above the revised October figure of 437,000. November's rate for buildings with five-plus units was 230,000.

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 November, 2010 551 454 82 78 108 267 98 June, 2011 615 449 160 68 126 288 133 July, 2011 615 430 176 85 90 306 134 August, 2011 585 425 153 57 86 301 141 September, 2011₂ 646 422 218 59 98 327 162 October, 2011₂ 627 437 174 65 110 319 133 November, 2011₁ 685 447 230 100 90 332 163

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