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.