U.S. September Housing Starts and Permits - Down overall but single family sector rises
September housing starts and permits both saw modest declines, the former near consensus at -0.5% to 1354k, the latter a little weaker than consensus at -2.9% to 1428k. Single family units however saw gains in both series, which suggests some underlying improvement.
Single starts rose by 2.7% while the volatile multiples sector fell by 9.4%. Single permits rose by 0.3% while multiples fell by 8.9%.
This is the second straight rise in single starts and the third straight rise in single permits, suggesting that the start of Fed easing is providing some support.
Multiples starts have seen two straight sharp declines after two straight sharp gains, while multiple permits reversed a rise of 8.2% in August.
Starts saw a sharp rise in the Northeast after a sharp August fall but declines in the other three regions. The Midwest and West saw steeper declines than the South, suggesting there was no major hurricane impact.
Permits also saw one region advancing (the West) with declines in the other three. The steepest decline was in the Northeast. The South at -6.1% did slip, but not by enough to imply a strong hurricane impact.
