Single-family housing starts slid in October, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said.     

New single-family homes were started at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 970,000, down 6.9% from 1,042,000 in September and 0.5% from 975,000 in October 2023.  

Multifamily residential starts jumped 9.8% from September to 326,000, which is 12.6% below the year-ago level of 373,000.     

Combined, single-family and multifamily housing starts came in at a rate of 1,311,000, which represents declines of 3.1% and 4% on a monthly and yearly basis, respectively. 

Single-family housing completions were down 1.4% month over month and 0.2% year over year, at a rate of 986,000, while permits for single-family construction were up 0.5% from September but down 1.8% from October 2023.  

 “This is a sign that the housing market will remain anemic through winter, as high mortgage rates continue to hinder recovery,” CoreLogic Chief Economist Selma Hepp said. “However, with homebuilder confidence gradually increasing, more newly built homes will make their way to market in 2025. The incoming administration could push for more housing to be built, perhaps even making federal lands available for residential construction and potentially limiting regulatory barriers that have added considerable costs to new construction.”   

“Mortgage rates have trended upward since October, driven by stronger-than-expected economic data and hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve,” First American Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi said. “Additionally, builders continue to face headwinds, including high construction costs and skilled labor shortages. 

“Looking ahead to 2025, my baseline expectation is that single-family home construction is poised to steadily increase, bolstered by modest declines in financing costs for builders and buyers and by the scarcity of existing homes due to the ongoing mortgage rate lock-in effect,” Kushi added.