November residential construction activity mixed

The HUD and the Census Bureau have jointly announced the new residential construction statistics for November 2016:

• Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,201,000, 4.7 percent below the revised October rate and 6.6 percent below the November 2015 estimate. Single-family authorizations in November were at a rate of 778,000, 0.5 percent above the revised October figure. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 384,000 in November.
• Privately owned housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,090,000, 18.7 percent below the revised October estimate, but 6.9 percent below the November 2015 rate. Single-family housing starts in November were at a rate of 828,000; 4.1 percent below the revised October figure. The November rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 259,000.
• Privately owned housing completions in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,216,000, 15.4 percent above the revised October estimate and 25.0 percent above the November 2015 rate. Single-family housing completions in November were at a rate of 774,000; 3.3 percent above the revised October rate The November rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 432,000.