The US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced Wednesday new residential construction statistics for November 2012.
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 899,000. This is 3.6 percent above the revised October rate of 868,000 and is 26.8 percent above the November 2011 estimate of 709,000. Single-family authorizations in November were at a rate of 565,000; this is 0.2 percent below the revised October figure of 566,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 307,000 in November.
Privately-owned housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 861,000. This is 3 percent below the revised October estimate of 888,000, but is 21.6 percent above the November 2011 rate of 708,000. Single-family housing starts in November were at a rate of 565,000; this is 4.1 percent below the revised October figure of 589,000. The November rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 285,000.
Privately-owned housing completions in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 677,000. This is 9.7 percent below the revised October estimate of 750,000, but is 16.1 percent above the November 2011 rate of 583,000. Single-family housing completions in November were at a rate of 520,000; this is 2.4 percent below the revised October rate of 533,000. The November rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 150,000.