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Homebuilding Rose in October, Driven by Multifamily Construction
November 19, 2018
Construction of new homes rebounded slightly, increasing by 1.5 percent last month. The Commerce Department said that “starts,” groundbreaking on new construction, rose to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.23 million, up from 1.21 million the month before.
Somewhat troubling is that the increase was driven multifamily homes, and that starts for single-family homes declined 1.8 percent. This marks the second consecutive month that single-family starts have fallen.
The housing market has lagged behind the rest of the economy in recent months as mortgage rates continue to creep up.
In the last 12 months through October, construction of new homes has fallen 2.6 percent.
