BCREA ECONOMICS NOW. US Housing Starts - November 17, 2011
US housing starts were flat in October at a 628K seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) following a downwardly revised 630K (SAAR) units in September. Multi-family starts continue to drive the trend in new home construction. Averaged over the past three months, multi-family starts are at their highest level since December 2008. Single-family starts continue to tread water at 430K units (SAAR). On a positive note, building permits, an indicator of future activity, rose 10.3 per cent in October.
The foreclosure overhang in the United States has been dreadfully slow to resolve and continues to hinder new construction activity and associated employment and economic growth. Until the US housing sector returns to normal, BC lumber exports (and the BC economy) will likely under-perform.
For more information, please contact:
| Cameron Muir | Brendon Ogmundson |
| Chief Economist | Economist |
| Direct: 604.742.2780 | Direct: 604.742.2796 |
| Mobile: 778.229.1884 | Mobile: 604.505.6793 |
| Email: cmuir@bcrea.bc.ca | Email: bogmundson@bcrea.bc.ca |
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