(10-17-18)

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for September 2018:  Building Permits – Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,241,000.

This is 0.6 percent (±1.2 percent)* below the revised August rate of 1,249,000 and is 1.0 percent (±1.2 percent)* below the September 2017 rate of 1,254,000. Single‐family authorizations in September were at a rate of 851,000; this is 2.9 percent (±1.2 percent) above the revised August figure of 827,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 351,000 in September. Housing Starts – Privately‐owned housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,201,000. This is 5.3 percent (±11.3 percent)* below the revised August estimate of 1,268,000, but is 3.7 percent (±12.1 percent)* above the September 2017 rate of 1,158,000. Single‐family housing starts in September were at a rate of 871,000; this is 0.9 percent (±8.9 percent)* below the revised August figure of 879,000. The September rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 324,000. Housing Completions – Privately‐owned housing completions in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,162,000. This is 4.1 percent (±11.3 percent)* below the revised August estimate of 1,212,000, but is 7.0 percent (±12.9 percent)* above the September 2017 rate of 1,086,000. Single‐family housing completions in September were at a rate of 844,000; this is 8.7 percent (±8.4 percent) below the revised August rate of 924,000. The September rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 312,000.