Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue (R) chats with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Homeland Secretary Kirtsjen Nielsen (L) as they await the arrival of President Donald Trump Oct. 1. Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI |
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Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Building permits, housing starts and housing completions were all up in November from the previous month, according to the latest report on nationwide residential construction released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The report stated permits for private housing units reached a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.328 million, 5 percent above the 1.2 percent rate in October and 0.4 percent above where it was in November 2017.
Housing starts were at an adjusted annual rate of 1.256 million, 3.2 percent ahead of October's estimates. That total, though, was 3.6 percent below where it was at the same time last year.
Housing completions reached an adjusted rate of 1.099 million in November, 0.4 percent ahead of where it was last month, but 3.9 percent below November 2017.
Despite the fact that housing starts and completions trail last year's figures, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross trumpeted the report on Twitter.
"Housing permits grew 5.0 percent and housing starts grew 3.2 percent, defying expectations and signaling continued growth for the @RealDonaldTrump economy," Ross wrote.
The housing market continued its effort to bounce back from the doldrums earlier this year when housing demand fell during the summer, taking its largest hit in two years.
Residential investment, including the costs of construction and brokers' fees, fell in the second quarter of 2018, a report on U.S. economic growth showed. It was the third decline in the past four quarters. Existing-home sales fell for three straight month, the National Association of Realtors said in August.
