U.S. Census Bureau: Monthly New Residential Construction, October 2021

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for October 2021:

Building Permits

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,650,000. This is 4.0 percent (±1.5 percent) above the revised September rate of 1,586,000 and is 3.4 percent (±1.6 percent) above the October 2020 rate of 1,595,000. Single-family authorizations in October were at a rate of 1,069,000; this is 2.7 percent (±1.2 percent) above the revised September figure of 1,041,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 528,000 in October.

Housing Starts

Privately-owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,520,000. This is 0.7 percent (±12.2 percent)* below the revised September estimate of 1,530,000, but is 0.4 percent (±12.3 percent)* above the October 2020 rate of 1,514,000. Single-family housing starts in October were at a rate of 1,039,000; thisis 3.9 percent (±9.5 percent)* below the revised September figure of 1,081,000. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 470,000.

Housing Completions

Privately-owned housing completions in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,242,000. This is virtually unchanged from (±13.0 percent)* the revised September estimate of 1,242,000, but is 8.4 percent (±9.2 percent)* below the October 2020 rate of 1,356,000. Single-family housing completions in October were at a rate of 929,000; this is 1.7 percent (±12.7 percent)* below the revised September rate of 945,000. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 302,000.

For the full October report, click here.

Notice of methodology change: Beginning with the January 2022 New Residential Construction release on February 17, 2022, the monthly Building Permits Survey design will change from a representative sample to a cut-off sample. This change will allow complete local and county data on new housing units authorized by permits to be published on a monthly basis going forward. For additional details on this change and the impact on New Residential Construction, see our Methodology Change FAQs.

The November report is scheduled for release on December 16, 2021. View the full schedule in the Economic Briefing Room: <www.census.gov/economic-indicators/>. The full text and tables for this release can be found at <www.census.gov/construction/nrc/>.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau