Housing Starts

U.S. housing starts, building permits increase in November

Key Points
  • U.S. homebuilding surged to an eight-month high in November amid an acute shortage of properties on the market, though higher prices for raw materials and labor shortages remain a constraint.
  • Housing starts increased 11.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.679 million units last month, the highest level since March, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.
  • Permits for future homebuilding increased 3.6% to a rate of 1.712 million units in November.
Residential single family homes construction by KB Home are shown under construction in the community of Valley Center, California, June 3, 2021.
Mike Blake | Reuters

U.S. homebuilding surged to an eight-month high in November amid an acute shortage of properties on the market, though higher prices for raw materials and labor shortages remain a constraint.

Housing starts increased 11.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.679 million units last month, the highest level since March, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. Data for October was revised down to a rate of 1.502 million units from the previously reported 1.520 million units.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast starts rising to a rate of 1.568 million units. Starts for both single-family and multi-family housing projects rose last month.

Permits for future homebuilding increased 3.6% to a rate of 1.712 million units in November.

Starts dropped from the 1.725 million unit-pace scaled in March, which was more than a 14-1/2-year high as builders struggled with shortages and more expensive raw materials.

Nonresidential construction input prices increased by nearly 25% in the 12 months through November, according to producer price data released this week. There is a huge backlog of houses authorized for construction but not yet started.

A survey from the National Association of Home Builders on Wednesday showed confidence among single-family homebuilders rose for a fourth straight month in December, but noted that "finding workers, predicting pricing and dealing with material delays remains a challenge."