**MNI 5 THINGS: US Housing Starts Fall In September To 1.201m>

--5 Things We Learned From September New Residential Construction Data

By Kevin Kastner

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the 

September new residential construction data released Wednesday by the 

Commerce Department: 

     - September housing starts fell by 5.3% to a 1.201 million annual 

rate, well below the 1.220 million pace expected following mixed 

revisions to the July and August data. After those revisions, third 

quarter starts averaged 1.218 million, down from 1.261 million in the 

second quarter.

     - Effects from Hurricane Florence could be seen in a 13.7% decline 

in starts in the South, and further effects are likely from Hurricane 

Michael with the October data, but there should be a boost later in the 

year as rebuilding efforts begin. Starts were down 14.0% in the 

Midwest, but rebounded by 29.0% in the Northeast and rose 6.6% in West.

     - Building permits posted a 0.6% decrease to a 1.241 million rate, 

below the 1.260 million rate expected and the slowest pace since May 

2017. Permits in the South were actually up 0.6%, but the translation to 

starts will be slower than normal due to the hurricanes. Homes permitted 

but not started fell by 0.6%, but were up 3.5% in the South. The NAHB 

index was rose slightly to 68 in October when it was released on 

Tuesday. 

     - Single-family housing starts fell by 0.9% in September, while 

multi-family starts plunged by 15.2%. Single-family building permits 

rose by 2.9%, but multi-family permits fell by 7.6%. 

     - Homes under construction were up 0.3% in September, but 

completions fell by 4.1% to a 1.162 million pace, slowest since 

November. These categories should decline further in the coming months, 

with the effects of Hurricanes Florence and Michael weighing on home 

building in the short term. 

     ** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 ** 

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