The US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced Thursday that privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 903,000. This is 0.3 percent above the revised November rate of 900,000 and is 28.8 percent above the December 2011 estimate of 701,000.
Single-family authorizations in December were at a rate of 578,000; this is 1.8 percent above the revised November figure of 568,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 301,000 in December. An estimated 813,400 housing units were authorized by building permits in 2012. This is 30.3 percent above the 2011 figure of 624,100.
Privately-owned housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 954,000. This is 12.1 percent above the revised November estimate of 851,000 and is 36.9 percent above the December 2011 rate of 697,000.
Single-family housing starts in December were at a rate of 616,000; this is 8.1 percent above the revised November figure of 570,000. The December rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 330,000. An estimated 780,000 housing units were started in 2012. This is 28.1 percent above the 2011 figure of 608,800.
Statistics Canada said Thursday that investment in non-residential building construction in the country amounted to $12 billion in Q4, up 1 percent from the previous quarter. This was the third consecutive quarterly increase and was led by higher spending for commercial and industrial buildings. Commercial building investment increased 1.7 percent to $7.2 billion, the fifth consecutive quarterly gain. Investment rose in seven provinces, and was led by higher spending on construction of retail and wholesale outlets.
Industrial investment was up for the fifth consecutive quarter, rising 3.3 percent to $1.6 billion. Spending in the institutional component totaled $3.1 billion in Q4, a 1.8 percent decline from the previous quarter. Nationally, it was the eighth consecutive quarterly decline in this component.