Construction Industry Comes Out Ahead in November

It’s truly “Happy Holidays” due to recent home building statistics. Building starts, permits, and completions are way up from a year ago, a testament to how far the industry has come from the dip in 2018 and early 2019. So take a breath and dig into those turkeys, roasts, and winter stews as we end this year. After spending time with friends and family, get ready to start 2020 strong out of the gate.

Builders started 1.365 million homes in November, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, up 3.2% from October and up 13.6% from a year ago. Single-family housing starts were up 2.4% from October.

• Building permits for new housing were up 1.4% from October and 11.1% from a year ago, to 1.461 million.
• Housing completions fell 6.6% from October, likely a relic of sluggish housing starts earlier in the year, but were up 7.3% from a year ago.

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