**MNI 5 THINGS: US Housing Starts Rise To 1.228m In October>

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

By Kevin Kastner, Harrison Clarke, and Shikha Dave

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

October new residential construction data released Tuesday by the 

Commerce Department: 

     - October housing starts rebounded by 1.5% to a 1.228 million 

annual rate, only slightly behind the 1.230 million pace expected 

following upward revisions to the August and September data. After those 

revisions, the October starts pace was in line with the 1.225 million 

average in the third quarter. 

     - Starts in the South turned higher, rising by 4.7% to a 596k pace 

in October after a 13.4% decline in the previous month, suggesting there 

was no immediate impact from Hurricane Michael. Starts were also up 

32.9% in the Midwest, but fell by 34.1% in the Northeast and by 4.6% in 

the West. There should be a boost in starts in the coming months as 

rebuilding efforts begin both in the South and in California due to the 

wildfires in November. 

     - Building permits posted a 0.6% decrease to a 1.263 million rate, 

still slightly ahead of the 1.260 million rate expected. Permits in the 

South were down 2.4%, likely showing a slowdown in activity in the 

weather-impacted areas. Permits also fell in the West, but were up in 

the Northeast and Midwest. 

     As with starts, the South should post a rebound in the coming 

months, while fires in California should hold back permits in the West 

in November, followed by a later boost. Homes permitted but not started 

rose by 1.2%, with a further 3.4% rise in the South region. The NAHB 

index fell sharply to a reading of 60 in November when it was released 

on Monday, with higher mortgage rates and prices blamed for the decline. 

     - Single-family housing starts fell by 1.8% in October, while 

multi-family starts rose by 10.3%. Single-family building permits fell 

by 0.6%, but multi-family permits fell by 0.5%. Homes under construction 

were up 0.5% in October, but completions fell by 3.3% to a 1.111 million 

pace. 

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

[TOPICS: MAUDS$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]