Single-Family Housing Starts at Highest Pace Since Spring of 2007
Single-family starts in October 2020 increased 6.4% to a 1.18 million seasonally adjusted annual rate and were up 8.6% year-to-date.
Led by solid gains in single-family production, overall housing starts increased 4.9% in October 2020 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.53 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The October reading of 1.53 million starts is the number of housing units builders would begin if development kept this pace for the next 12 months. Within this overall number, single-family starts increased 6.4% to a 1.18 million seasonally adjusted annual rate and were up 8.6% year-to-date. The pace of single-family starts was the best since the spring of 2007. The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, remained unchanged from the previous month at a 351,000 pace.
“As seen in the NAHB/Wells Fargo builder confidence index, single-family starts continue to grow off a historic rebound that began in April,” said Chuck Fowke, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a custom home builder from Tampa, Fla. “Current demand is being supported by historically low interest rates and home buyer preferences shifting to the suburbs and exurbs.”