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U.S. Housing Starts Dip in November

blueprintsProduction on new homes slowed in November, falling off from an upward revision to October groundbreakings.

According to a report released Tuesday from the Commerce Department, homebuilders began construction on new houses in November at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.03 million, down 1.6 percent month-over-month and 7 percent year-over-year.

Month to month, single-family housing starts were down 5.4 percent to an adjusted estimated rate of 677,000, the government reported. Multifamily production rose 6.7 percent to a rate of 351,000 units, meanwhile.

Despite the retreat in housing starts, there were a few pieces of good news in Tuesday's report. For one thing, November marked the third straight month in which starts came in at a rate above 1 million. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the three-month moving averages for both total and single-family starts are now the strongest they've been since the Great Recession.

"These numbers are in line with our latest surveys, which show that single-family builders are confident that the market is gradually recovering," said NAHB Chairman Kevin Kelly.

In a report released Monday, NAHB recorded a one-point drop in its monthly gauge of builder sentiment, putting the measure at a reading of 57. An index level above 50 indicates a market viewed more positively than negatively.

Further good news came in the form of October's revised estimate, which climbed to 1.05 million from an originally reported 1.01 million.

On the other hand, November also saw a decline in permit issuance for new home construction. According to the Commerce Department, housing permits were issued at a seasonally adjusted yearly rate of 1.04 million last month, a drop of 5.2 percent from October and 0.2 percent from a year ago.

Permits were down for both single- and multifamily projects, declining 1.2 percent to a rate of 639,000 and 11 percent to a rate of 396,000, respectively.

About Author: Tory Barringer

Tory Barringer began his journalism career in early 2011, working as a writer for the University of Texas at Arlington's student newspaper before joining the DS News team in 2012. In addition to contributing to DSNews.com, he is also the online editor for DS News' sister publication, MReport, which focuses on mortgage banking news.
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