(12-18-18)

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for November 2018: Building Permits – Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,328,000.

This is 5.0 percent (±1.6 percent) above the revised October rate of 1,265,000 and is 0.4 percent (±1.7 percent)* above the November 2017 rate of 1,323,000. Single‐family authorizations in November were at a rate of 848,000; this is 0.1 percent (±1.4 percent)* above the revised October figure of 847,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 441,000 in November. Housing Starts – Privately‐owned housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,256,000. This is 3.2 percent (±9.8 percent)* above the revised October estimate of 1,217,000, but is 3.6 percent (±9.4 percent)* below the November 2017 rate of 1,303,000. Single‐family housing starts in November were at a rate of 824,000; this is 4.6 percent (±8.4 percent)* below the revised October figure of 864,000. The November rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 417,000. Housing Completions – Privately‐owned housing completions in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,099,000. This is 0.4 percent (±8.7 percent)* above the revised October estimate of 1,095,000, but is 3.9 percent (±11.5 percent)* below the November 2017 rate of 1,144,000. Single‐family housing completions in November were at a rate of 772,000; this is 5.4 percent (±7.6 percent)* below the revised October rate of 816,000. The November rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 314,000.