Housing Starts – December 2008

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Housing Starts At a Glance
Seasonally Adjusted

Housing Starts: 550,000
Monthly Change: Down 15.5%
Year-to-year Change: Down 45%
1-Family Monthly Change: Down 13.5%
Housing Completions: 1,015,000
Monthly Change: Down 5.2%
Year-to-year Change: Down 23.6%
1-Family Monthly Change: Down 13.1%
Building Permits: 549,000
Monthly Change: Down 10.7%
Year-to-year Change: Down 50.6%
1-Family Monthly Change: Down 12.3%

Technorati Tags: housing starts, new residential construction, residential construction, home construction

NEW RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION IN DECEMBER 2008
The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residential
construction statistics for December 2008:
BUILDING PERMITS
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 549,000.
This is 10.7 percent (±1.3%) below the revised November rate of 615,000 and is 50.6 percent (±1.6%) below the revised December
2007 estimate of 1,111,000.
Single-family authorizations in December were at a rate of 363,000; this is 12.3 percent (±1.5%) below the November figure of 414,000.
Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 170,000 in December.
An estimated 892,500 housing units were authorized by building permits in 2008. This is 36.2 percent (±0.8%) below the 2007 figure of
1,398,400.
HOUSING STARTS
Privately-owned housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 550,000. This is 15.5 percent (±9.3%) below
the revised November estimate of 651,000 and is 45.0 percent (±6.1%) below the revised December 2007 rate of 1,000,000.
Single-family housing starts in December were at a rate of 398,000; this is 13.5 percent (±11.2%) below the November figure of
460,000. The December rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 145,000.
An estimated 904,300 housing units were started in 2008. This is 33.3 percent (±1.3%) below the 2007 figure of 1,355,000.
HOUSING COMPLETIONS
Privately-owned housing completions in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,015,000. This is 5.2 percent
(±11.9%)* below the revised November estimate of 1,071,000 and is 23.6 percent (±9.2%) below the revised December 2007 rate of
1,329,000.
Single-family housing completions in December were at a rate of 668,000; this is 13.1 percent (±12.5%) below the November figure of
769,000. The December rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 330,000.
An estimated 1,116,600 housing units were completed in 2008. This is 25.7 percent (±2.3%) below the 2007 figure of 1,502,800.