The U.S. government is still catching up with economic reports following its shutdown, and today's housing starts report paints a positive picture of the last couple of months. After rising 1.8% in October, housing starts jumped up a whopping 22.7% for November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,091,000, according to a Commerce Department report (link opens a PDF) released today. Analysts were pleasantly surprised by the news, as they expected November's gain to clock in at a more modest rate of 952,000.
Source: Census.gov
While housing permits fell 3.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,007,000, November's numbers are still 3.4% above September's. Housing completions barely moved, edging down 0.1%, to a rate of 823,000.
During the last year, housing starts soared 29.6%, permits were up 7.9%, and completions increased 21.6%.
