FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2009 AT 8:30 A.M. EST
CB09-172Erica Filipek or Stephen CooperManufacturing and Construction Division(301) 763-5160
NEW RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION IN OCTOBER 2009
The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residentialconstruction statistics for October 2009:
BUILDING PERMITS
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 552,000.This is 4.0 percent (±1.9%) below the revised September rate of 575,000 and is 24.3 percent (±1.9%) below the October 2008estimate of 729,000.Single-family authorizations in October were at a rate of 451,000; this is 0.2 percent (±1.0%)* below the revised September figure of 452,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 85,000 in October.
HOUSING STARTS
Privately-owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529,000. This is 10.6 percent (±8.7%) belowthe revised September estimate of 592,000 and is 30.7 percent (±8.3%) below the October 2008 rate of 763,000.Single-family housing starts in October were at a rate of 476,000; this is 6.8 percent (±7.5%)* below the revised September figure of 511,000. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 48,000.
HOUSING COMPLETIONS
Privately-owned housing completions in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 740,000. This is 1.9 percent (±12.4%)*above the revised September estimate of 726,000, but is 29.9 percent (±9.7%) below the October 2008 rate of 1,055,000.Single-family housing completions in October were at a rate of 528,000; this is 10.7 percent (±14.5%)* above the revised Septemberfigure of 477,000. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 200,000.
New Residential Construction data for November 2009 will be released on Wednesday, December 16, 2009, at 8:30 A.M. EST.Our Internet site is:http://www.census.gov/newresconst
EXPLANATORY NOTES
* 90% confidence interval includes zero. The Census Bureau does not have sufficient statistical evidence to conclude that the actual change is different from zero.
http://www.census.gov/newresconst
In interpreting changes in the statistics in this release, note that month-to-month changes in seasonally adjusted statistics often show movements which may beirregular. It may take 3 months to establish an underlying trend for building permit authorizations, 4 months for total starts, and 5 months for total completions. Thestatistics in this release are estimated from sample surveys and are subject to sampling variability as well as nonsampling error including bias and variance fromresponse, nonreporting, and undercoverage. Estimated relative standard errors of the most recent data are shown in the tables. Whenever a statement such as “2.5percent (±3.2%) above” appears in the text, this indicates the range (-0.7 to +5.7 percent) in which the actual percent change is likely to have occurred. All rangesgiven for percent changes are 90-percent confidence intervals and account only for sampling variability. If a range does not contain zero, the change is statisticallysignificant. If it does contain zero, the change is not statistically significant; that is, it is uncertain whether there was an increase or decrease. The same policies applyto the confidence intervals for percent changes shown in the tables. On average, the preliminary seasonally adjusted estimates of total building permits, housing startsand housing completions are revised about two percent or less. Explanations of confidence intervals and sampling variability can be found on our web site listedabove.
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