Housing
New Housing Starts at Five-Year High, Building Permits Near Annual High
Published:
The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported Wednesday morning that new housing starts in November rose to an annual seasonally adjusted rate of 1.09 million, an increase of 22.7% from the upwardly revised October rate of 889,000 and a gain of 29.6% above the November 2012 rate of 842,000. The consensus estimate from a survey of economists expected a rate of around 952,000.
The November total is the highest number of new housing starts since February 2008.
The seasonally adjusted rate of new building permits fell to 1.01 million, which is 3.1% below the revised October rate of 1.04 million but 7.9% higher than the November 2012 rate of 933,000. The consensus estimate called for 995,000 new permits. The October number marked the year-to-date high.
Single-family housing starts rose to an annualized rate of 727,000 in November, up 20.8% from the revised October rate of 602,000.
Permits for new single-family homes rose 2.1% in November, to an adjusted annual rate of 634,000, from a revised total of 621,000 in October.
Homebuilder Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) reported good earnings this morning and a 13% increase to its backlog of orders for single family homes and a jump of 34% in the dollar value of the new orders. The company’s backlog totals 4,806 homes, up 19%, and the dollar value of the backlog is up 40% to $1.6 billion.
Let’s face it: If your money is just sitting in a checking account, you’re losing value every single day. With most checking accounts offering little to no interest, the cash you worked so hard to save is gradually being eroded by inflation.
However, by moving that money into a high-yield savings account, you can put your cash to work, growing steadily with little to no effort on your part. In just a few clicks, you can set up a high-yield savings account and start earning interest immediately.
There are plenty of reputable banks and online platforms that offer competitive rates, and many of them come with zero fees and no minimum balance requirements. Click here to see if you’re earning the best possible rate on your money!
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.