The Census Bureau’s release of October Housing Start and Permitting data has invoked some heavy breathing this morning by the media and some economically oriented pundits.  See the data release here. 

The SAAR rate for total housing starts came in at 791,000 for October, the lowest reported level since the CB began tracking the data in 1959.  This value is down 4.5 percent from September and 38 percent below October 2007. 

Single family starts came in at 531,000 (SAAR), the weakest since October of 1981.

Permits pulled in October are also down (as you’d expect) at a SAAR of 708,000; 40.1 percent below October 2007. 

CalculatedRisk has provided a great graph of the material today – as always it’s most helpful to look at this data over time. 

We’d again argue that constriction of permitting and starts is nothing but appropriate given the overhang of inventory in most markets today, and certainly in line with the credit restrictions and economic news of the day.  Another graphic illustration of the cyclical nature of real estate markets. 

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