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HOUSING STARTS AND BUILDING
PERMITS IN OCTOBER 1997
Privately Owned Housing Starts
Privately owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,528,000, according to estimates reported today by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of the Census. This is 1 (+/—6) percent above the revised September rate of 1,507,000 and 9 (+/—7) percent above the October 1996 rate of 1,407,000.
Single-family housing starts in October 1997 were at a rate of 1,142,000; this is 4 (+/—6) percent below the September figure of 1,187,000. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 321,000. The October rate for units in buildings with two to four units was 65,000.
During the first 10 months of this year, 1,255,900 housing units were started compared with 1,272,200 units for the same period in 1996. This is a decrease of 1 (+/—1) percent.
Building Permits
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing units authorized by building permits in October was 1,476,000; this is 1 (+/—1) percent above the revised September rate of 1,460,000 and 9 (+/—2) percent above the October 1996 estimate of 1,349,000.
Single-family authorizations in October 1997 were at a rate of 1,086,000; this is 2 (+/—1) percent above the September figure of 1,065,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 311,000 in October. The October rate of permit-authorized units in buildings with two to four units was 79,000.
During the first 10 months of this year, 1,231,600 housing units were authorized by building permits; this is virtually unchanged (+/—1 percent) from the 1,225,700 units authorized in the same period in 1996.
Mobile Home Shipments
Statistics on mobile home shipments, which lag by 1 month, appear in the Current Construction Reports, series C20. In September, manufacturers' shipments of mobile homes were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 354,000, 1 percent below the August figure of 357,000. The September 1996 rate was 372,000. Before seasonal adjustment, total shipments in September 1997 were 31,300.
New Privately Owned Housing Units
Started By Region
Category Oct 97-(p) Sep 97-(r) Oct 961st 10 mos-X Housing Starts, (SAAR) 1,528 1,395 1,407 1,476.8 Northeast (SAAR) 115 136 138 132.1 Midwest (SAAR) 318 307 287 321.5 South (SAAR) 717 699 617 661.9 West (SAAR) 378 365 365 361.4 (p)–Preliminary. (r)–Revised. X–Not seasonally adjusted.
November 19, 1997 U.S. Department of Commerce
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