Single-family housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 452,000 units in September, a slight increase from the prior month, and a sign that home building may finally be improving, but at anemic levels.
However, compared to September 2009, starts fell 14%. The figures were compiled by the Commerce Department and released early Tuesday morning.
Multifamily housing starts, where structures of five apartments or more are under construction, continued along at a decent clip during September at 150,000 units annualized. Compared to the same month last year, multifamily starts more than doubled. But compared to August, MF starts fell 7%.
On Monday, the National Association of Home Builders released its builder confidence index, showing a slight increase in optimism but concerns about developers obtaining bank credit.
