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Posted October 18, 2017

NAHB: Hurricanes blow down home production in September

Single family home production falls 15.3 percent in hurricane ravaged South.


Nationwide housing starts fell 4.7% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.13 million units, according to newly released data from HUD and the Commerce Department.

Nationwide single-family production fell 4.6% to 829,000 units due to a 15.3% decline in the hurricane-ravaged South. All other regions posted gains in the single-family sector, and nationwide single-family permits increased 2.4%.

“We are seeing the hurricanes take a toll on single-family production, but builder confidence is strong and production should bounce back as the recovery process gets underway,” said NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald.

“Looking at historical data, there is a pattern of decreased production immediately following natural disasters but economic fundamentals will drive the longer-term trend in housing starts,” said NAHB Senior Economist Michael Neal. “Nationwide single-family permits are up this month, and year-to-date single-family starts are 9% ahead of their level over the same period last year — two indicators that this sector continues to improve.”

Regionally in September, combined single- and multifamily housing production rose 15.7 % in the West. Starts fell 9.2% in the Northeast, 9.3% in the South and 20.2% in the Midwest.

Overall permit issuance in September was down 4.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.22 million units. Single-family permits rose 2.4% to 819,000 units while multifamily permits fell 16.1% to 396,000.

Regionally, overall permits rose 9.2% in the Northeast and 0.5% in the Midwest. Permits fell 5.6% in the South and 9.2% in the West.

Source: NAHB.org

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