by Building permits also fell 4.4% from October 2022, while housing completions rose 4.6% over same period
WASHINGTON — Residential housing starts in October rose from September but fell from October last year as did residential building permits issued for the same period, according to figures released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Friday.
Meanwhile the number of housing completions in October fell from September, but rose from a year ago.
The figures highlight the continued downturn in the housing market, which ultimately impacts furniture sales. As with retail furniture store sales, home construction activity has trailed the numbers posted last year, although as this report indicates, there are some bright spots.
Housing starts totaled 1,372,000, up 1.9% above the revised September rate of 1,346,000, but were 4.2% below the October 2022 rate of 1,432,000. The number of building permits issued totaled 1,487,000 in October, 1.1% above the revised September rate of 1,471,000 but 4.4% below the October 2022 rate of 1,555,000.
Housing completions in October totaled 1,410,000, 4.6% below a revised September rate of 1,478,000 but 4.6% above the 1,348,000 reported in October 2022.
Single-family housing starts rose .2% to 970,000 in October, from 968,000 in September, while October building permits for single-family units totaled 968,000, up .5% from the revised September figure of 963,000. Meanwhile, housing completions of single-family homes in October totaled 993,000, .9% below the revised figure of 1,002,000 reported in September.
By region, the activity was as follows:
In the Northeast, housing starts totaled 71,000 in October, down 24.5% from the 94,000 reported in October 2022 and down 14.5% from the 83,000 reported in September. Building permits issued in the region totaled 126,000 in October, up 12.5% from the 112,000 reported October 2022 and up 15.6% from the 109,000 reported in September. There were 99,000 units completed in the region in October, up 1% from the 98,000 reported in October 2022 but down 1% from the 100,000 reported in September.
In the Midwest, there were 244,000 units started in October, up 5.2% from the 232,000 reported in October 2022 and up 28.4% from the 190,000 reported in September. The number of permits issued in the region totaled 169,000 in October, down 21.8% from the 216,000 reported in October 2022 and down 10.6% from the 189,000 reported in September. The number of units completed in the Midwest totaled 171,000 in October, down 7.1% from the 184,000 reported in October 2022, and down 9% from the 188,000 reported in September.
In the South, there were 723,000 units started in October, down 8.1% from the 787,000 reported in October 2022 and down 6.8% from the 776,000 reported in September. In the same region, there were 843,000 residential building permits issued, down 5.3% from the 890,000 reported in October 2022 and up 3.1% from the 818,000 reported in September. There were 828,000 units completed, up 19.7% from the 692,000 completed in October 2022 but down 1.7% from the 842,000 completed in September.
In the West, there were 334,000 residential units started, up 4.7% from the 319,000 reported in October 2022, and also up 12.5% from the 297,000 reported in September. There were 349,000 residential building permits issued in October, up 3.6% from the 337,000 issued in October 2022 and down 1.7% from the 355,000 issued in September. There were 312,000 residential units completed in the region in October, down 16.6% from the 374,000 reported in October 2022 and down 10.3% from the 348,000 reported in September.
