Privately-owned housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.13 million, a 4.7 percent decrease compared with August’s rate of 1.18 million but 6.1 percent higher than the September 2016 rate of 1.06 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Single-family production fell 4.6 percent month-over-month to 829,000 due to a 15.3 percent decline in the South, which the National Association of Home Builders blames on hurricanes.
"Looking at historical data, there is a pattern of decreased production immediately following natural disasters but economic fundamentals will drive the longer-term trend in housing starts," said NAHB Senior Economist Michael Neal in a statement.
While single-family starts were down month-over-month in September, they were up 5.9 percent compared with the seasonally adjusted annual rate of starts in September 2016 of 793,000.
Combined September single- and multifamily starts rose 15.7 percent in the West. They fell 9.2 percent in the Northeast, 9.3 percent in the South and 20.2 percent in the Midwest.
