For the second straight month, the number of privately-owned housing starts reached a four-year peak, as October’s seasonally adjusted annual rate of starts reached 894,000 — 3.6 percent higher than September’s 863,000 and 41.9 percent higher than October 2011’s 630,000, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The number of building permits authorized — which hit a four-year high in September — dropped 2.7 percent from September to 866,000 from 890,000. This number is still 29.8 percent higher than October 2011’s 667,000.
Housing completions in October were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 772,000 — 14.5 percent higher than September’s 674,000 and 33.6 percent higher than October 2011’s 578,000.
