HOUSING STARTS AND BUILDING PERMITS IN OCTOBER 1996 PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING STARTS Privately owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,366,000, according to estimates reported today by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of the Census. This is 5 (+/-6) percent below the revised September rate of 1,440,000, but 1 (+/-6) percent above the October 1995 rate of 1,351,000. Single-family housing starts in October 1996 were at a rate of 1,069,000; this is 5 (+/-5) percent below the September figure of 1,120,000. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 239,000. The October rate for units in buildings with two to four units was 58,000. During the first 10 months of this year, 1,268,600 housing units were started compared with 1,154,100 units for the same period in 1995. This is an increase of 10 (+/-2) percent. BUILDING PERMITS The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing units authorized by building permits in October was 1,361,000; this is 3 (+/-1) percent below the revised September rate of 1,399,000 and 2 (+/-1) percent below the October 1995 figure of 1,393,000. Single-family authorizations in October 1996 were at a rate of 1,009,000; this is 3 (+/-1) percent below the September figure of 1,040,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 281,000 in October. The October rate of permit- authorized units in buildings with two to four units was 71,000. During the first 10 months of this year, 1,230,100 housing units were authorized by building permits compared with 1,127,300 units for the same period in 1995. This is an increase of 9 (+/-1) percent. MOBILE HOME SHIPMENTS Statistics on mobile home shipments, which lag by 1 month, appear in the Current Construction Reports, series C20. In September, manufacturers' shipments of mobile homes were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 373,000, 1 percent above the August figure of 369,000. The September 1995 rate was 352,000. Before seasonal adjustment, total shipments in September 1996 were 31,500. The next press release is scheduled to be issued on Tuesday, December 17, 1996, at 8:30 A.M. EST. Note: This document is no longer available on CENDATA, FASTFAX, or the CENSUS/BEA Forum. EXPLANATORY NOTES In interpreting changes in the statistics in this release, note that month-to-month changes in seasonally adjusted statistics often show movements which may be irregular. It may take 4 months to establish an underlying trend for total starts, 3 months for building permit authorizations, and 2 months for mobile home shipments. Except for those on mobile home shipments, the statistics in this release are estimated from sample surveys and are subject to sampling variability as well as nonsampling error including bias and variance from response, nonreporting, and undercoverage. Estimated average relative standard errors of preliminary data are shown in the tables. Whenever a statement such as "2 (+/-3) percent above" appears in the text, this indicates the range (-1 to +5 percent) in which the actual percent change is likely to have occurred. All ranges given for percent changes are 90- percent confidence intervals and account only for sampling variability. If a range contains zero, it is uncertain whether there was an increase or decrease; that is, the change is not statistically significant. For any comparison cited without a confidence interval, the change is statistically significant. The May 1996 Current Construction Reports, C20/96-5, includes explanations of confidence intervals and sampling variability. On average, the preliminary seasonally adjusted estimates of total housing starts and building permits are revised about +/-1 percent. Statistics on mobile home shipments are compiled from manufacturers' reports to the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards (NCSBCS). Questions regarding these data may be the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: OCTOBER 1996 In structures with - 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1995 - October 1,351 1,109 31 211 November 1,458 1,129 32 297 December 1,425 1,150 29 246 1996 - January 1,453 1,146 20 287 February 1,514 1,183 33 298 March 1,439 1,163 25 251 April 1,511 1,209 53 249 May 1,478 1,144 49 285 June 1,490 1,209 46 235 July 1,470 1,150 43 277 August(r) 1,533 1,239 38 256 September(r) 1,440 1,120 47 273 OCTOBER(p) 1,366 1,069 58 239 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 9 10 Not seasonally adjusted 1994 1,457.0 1,198.4 14.8 20.2 223.5 1995 1,354.1 1,076.2 14.3 19.4 244.1 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 10 5 1 1995 First 10 months 1,154.1 920.6 12.6 16.5 204.5 1996 First 10 months 1,268.6 1,005.7 13.9 23.1 225.9 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 6 5 3 1995 - October 126.2 101.5 0.8 1.6 22.2 November 107.2 82.0 1.2 1.6 22.4 December 92.8 73.7 0.5 1.3 17.2 1996 - January 90.7 68.9 0.3 0.8 20.6 February 95.9 74.2 0.9 1.1 19.7 March 116.0 96.9 1.0 1.0 17.1 April 146.6 117.9 2.0 3.4 23.3 May 143.9 111.6 1.6 3.0 27.7 June 138.0 115.0 1.6 3.3 18.2 July 137.5 109.1 1.2 3.1 24.2 August(r) 144.2 115.6 1.2 2.0 25.4 September(r) 127.0 97.7 1.9 2.2 25.2 OCTOBER(p) 128.9 98.9 2.2 3.1 24.7 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 12 12 10 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $21.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY REGION: OCTOBER 1996 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1995 - October 1,351 120 278 606 347 November 1,458 103 318 708 329 December 1,425 93 305 679 348 1996 - January 1,453 99 333 625 396 February 1,514 130 317 648 419 March 1,439 139 325 634 341 April 1,511 136 322 660 393 May 1,478 129 324 678 347 June 1,490 128 301 684 377 July 1,470 128 352 656 334 August(r) 1,533 133 341 676 383 September(r) 1,440 140 305 659 336 OCTOBER(p) 1,366 127 277 604 358 AVG. RSE(%) 3 7 7 5 4 Not seasonally adjusted 1994 1,457.0 138.2 328.9 639.1 350.8 1995 1,354.1 117.7 290.1 615.0 331.3 AVG. RSE (%) 1 1 2 2 1 1995 First 10 months 1,154.1 102.5 248.3 517.0 286.3 1996 First 10 months 1,268.6 110.9 276.8 562.4 318.5 AVG. RSE (%) 1 1 2 2 2 1995 - October 126.2 12.1 29.6 53.6 30.9 November 107.2 8.6 24.7 51.6 22.3 December 92.8 6.5 17.1 46.3 22.8 1996 - January 90.7 5.0 14.7 43.8 27.2 February 95.9 6.1 13.8 46.9 29.0 March 116.0 10.0 24.0 54.5 27.4 April 146.6 13.1 31.8 64.3 37.3 May 143.9 12.6 33.6 65.2 32.5 June 138.0 13.4 30.9 58.6 35.1 July 137.5 12.3 34.9 59.2 31.1 August(r) 144.2 12.9 35.3 59.2 36.7 September(r) 127.0 13.0 28.4 56.1 29.4 OCTOBER(p) 128.9 12.5 29.3 54.4 32.7 AVG. RSE (%) 3 7 7 5 4 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the s period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $21.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: OCTOBER 1996 In structures with - 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted annual rate (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 - October 1,393 1,050 68 275 November 1,450 1,073 71 306 December 1,487 1,123 60 304 1996 - January 1,378 1,056 65 257 February 1,417 1,087 60 270 March 1,423 1,097 61 265 April 1,459 1,115 75 269 May 1,452 1,098 62 292 June 1,415 1,085 62 268 July 1,457 1,073 68 316 August 1,423 1,078 60 285 September(r) 1,399 1,040 73 286 OCTOBER(p) 1,361 1,009 71 281 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 4 2 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994 1,371.6 1,068.5 31.4 30.8 241.0 1995 1,332.5 997.3 32.2 31.5 271.5 AVG. RSE(%) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) 1995 First 10 months 1,127.3 850.1 27.5 26.4 223.3 1996 First 10 months 1,230.1 933.9 28.8 28.1 239.3 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 2 3 1 1995 - October 122.2 90.8 3.1 3.3 25.0 November 107.8 78.4 2.9 3.1 23.5 December 97.4 68.8 1.9 2.0 24.7 1996 - January 87.3 65.5 2.1 1.9 17.8 February 94.9 73.6 2.1 1.8 17.4 March 119.9 95.1 2.6 2.4 19.6 April 139.4 109.4 3.7 3.4 23.0 May 140.5 109.7 3.0 2.9 24.9 June 130.6 100.7 2.9 3.0 24.0 July 135.7 101.4 3.0 2.9 28.4 August 129.8 98.4 2.9 2.5 26.0 September(r) 121.0 86.0 3.1 3.1 28.8 OCTOBER(p) 126.1 91.7 3.4 4.1 27.0 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 5 5 2 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 - October 128.7 74.9 3.6 50.2 1996 - August(r) 130.7 77.0 3.7 50.0 September(r) 131.6 75.0 5.6 51.0 OCTOBER(p) 129.0 71.9 5.1 52.0 AVG. RSE(%) 3 4 8 6 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (X) Not applicable. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $21.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY REGION: OCTOBER 1996 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 - October 1,393 125 323 629 316 November 1,450 124 324 634 368 December 1,487 128 317 644 398 1996 - January 1,378 102 312 594 370 February 1,417 122 323 600 372 March 1,423 137 329 591 366 April 1,459 135 342 634 348 May 1,452 137 304 668 343 June 1,415 134 302 634 345 July 1,457 136 338 625 358 August 1,423 147 317 629 330 September(r) 1,399 138 306 604 351 OCTOBER(p) 1,361 138 298 588 337 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 2 1 1 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994 1,371.6 138.5 305.2 585.5 342.4 1995 1,332.5 124.2 296.6 583.2 328.5 AVG. RSE(%) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) 1995 First 10 months 1,127.3 105.8 254.0 493.1 274.5 1996 First 10 months 1,230.1 116.5 276.2 534.8 302.6 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 1 1 1 1995 - October 122.2 11.9 31.9 51.5 27.0 November 107.8 10.5 24.9 46.3 26.2 December 97.4 8.0 17.8 43.8 27.8 1996 - January 87.3 5.5 14.0 44.2 23.5 February 94.9 6.0 16.8 46.0 26.1 March 119.9 10.5 26.4 51.6 31.3 April 139.4 12.9 34.0 60.3 32.2 May 140.5 14.3 32.2 62.1 31.9 June 130.6 13.1 28.7 55.0 33.8 July 135.7 13.5 33.5 54.7 34.0 August 129.8 14.0 30.9 55.2 29.7 September(r) 121.0 11.9 27.9 52.0 29.3 OCTOBER(p) 126.1 13.8 31.1 51.1 30.1 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 2 1 1 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 - October 128.7 15.8 18.2 71.8 23.0 1996 - August(r) 130.7 16.4 19.8 71.1 23.4 September(r) 131.6 15.3 21.0 70.9 24.4 OCTOBER(p) 129.0 16.2 22.2 68.4 22.2 AVG. RSE(%) 3 7 8 5 5 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (X) Not applicable. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $21.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703.