Housing Market Sees Mild YTD Increase

The U.S Census Dept. reported that privately-owned housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000, 0.3 percent above the revised August estimate of 608,000 and 4.1 percent above the September 2009 rate of 586,000. Single-family housing starts in September were at a rate of 452,000, 4.4 percent above the revised August figure of 433,000.

Building permits in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 539,000, 5.6 percent below the revised August rate of 571,000 and 10.9 percent below the September 2009 estimate of 605,000. Single-family authorizations in September were at a rate of 405,000, 0.5 percent above the revised August figure of 403,000.

New Privately Owned Housing Units Started

(Thousands of units, seasonally adjusted annual rate)

PeriodTotal1 Unit5 Units or moreNortheastMidwestSouthWestSeptember 2010₁ 610 452 150 72 101 305 132 August 2010₂ 608 433 161 70 110 291 137 July 2010₂ 550 427 103 75 92 275 108 June 2010 539 450 84 60 83 287 109 May 2010 588 459 117 72 109 291 116 September 2009 586 507 70 67 105 297 117

1-Preliminary; 2-Revised; Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census