Privately-owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.06 million, 11 percent below September’s rate of 1.19 million and 1.8 percent below the October 2014 rate of 1.07 million. The decrease in starts was largely due to a drop in multifamily starts, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Single-family housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 722,000, a 2.4 percent drop from the September rate of 740,000 but a 4.7 percent increase year-over-year.
Multifamily starts fell 25.1 percent month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 338,000 in October.
Building permits increased 4.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.15 million from September’s 1.1 million. October’s permit rate was 2.7 percent higher than in October 2014.
"The fact that permits are rising is consistent with our builders' continued optimism in the housing market," said NAHB Chairman Tom Woods in a statement. "Even though starts dropped in October, they have stayed above the one million mark for seven straight months—the longest streak in almost seven years."
