Home Building Rises Slightly, But Weakness Lingers

Wall Street Journal (11/21/07) P. A2; Evans, KellyThe U.S. Commerce Department reports that new home construction ramped up 3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.229 million units in October from September, the first month-to-month gain since June of this year. However, researchers downplayed the improvement, noting that the increase was driven completely by construction of multifamily buildings with five or more units. Activity in that sector skyrocketed 47 percent during October after plunging 36 percent a month earlier. Construction of new single-family residences, a better gauge of the overall housing market, sank 7.3 percent in October from the month before to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 884,000 units. Meanwhile, building permits for new residential units decreased 6.6 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.178 million units.