The U.S. government is reporting that privately-owned housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,226,000. This figure is 11.3% above November’s rate and is 5.7% higher than one year ago. Single-family housing starts in December were at a rate of 795k. The December rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 417k. An estimated 1,166,400 housing units were started in 2016. This is 4.9% higher than one year ago.
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,210,000. This is 0.7 % higher than the December 2015. Single-family authorizations in December were at a rate of 817,000 which was 4.7% higher than November. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 355k in December. An estimated 1,186,900 housing units were authorized by building permits in 2016. This is 0.4% than one year ago.
