Housing starts during September were at seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1.127 million, 4.7 percent below the revised August estimate of 1.183 million, but 6.1 percent above the September 2016 rate of 1.062 million, the Census Bureau reported
Single-family housing starts in September were at a SAAR of 829,000, 4.6 percent below the revised August figure of 869,000, according to the Census Bureau.
“The decline in single-family housing starts is likely due to the impact of hurricane damage,” First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming said. “[The] Census Bureau report for September sends a note of caution to the housing market. Permits declined 4.3 percent and starts increased 6.1 percent, respectively, compared to a year ago. The decreased pace of permits, a leading indicator of starts is a concern for further increases in starts in the coming year.”
“Hurricane Harvey significantly damaged or destroyed more than 30,000 homes and Irma similarly damaged over 4,000 homes,” Fleming added. “Residential construction employment, the primary category of labor that build new homes, declined by 3,900, while specialty trade contractors (the plumbers, electricians and other specialized labor that is often involved in renovation and rehabilitation projects) increased by almost 9,000.”
Fleming said the challenge of finding labor to build new homes is challenged by the demand for labor to renovate hurricane-damaged homes.
“The decline in residential construction jobs and increase in specialty trade contractors highlights the strong demand, particularly in Texas, for construction workers to renovate and rehabilitate hurricane impacted houses,” Fleming said.