Housing starts data, multi family 2nd lowest since 2013 ex Covid

Housing starts in November fell to 1.289mm, 55k less than expected and down from 1.312mm in October. Looking under the hood is most important here because the start of multi family units has fallen to just 278k, the 2nd lowest amount, not including Covid, since September 2013. Single family starts totaled 1.011mm from 950mm in October (which could have been subdued because of the storms) and vs 1.045mm in September.

With respect to permits, the precursor to starts, they rebounded to 533k from 448k for multi family but were flat for single family at 972k.

Bottom line, notwithstanding the markets need for more single family supply, starts at 1.011mm is about in line with the 5 yr average of 991k as while bigger builders are doing fine and taking share, smaller builders are not and home affordability is an obvious challenge for many. With regards to multi family, there is a notable drop in new construction (we’ll see how many permits get started) after the huge supply stream we’ve seen in 2024.