Steel Markets
January 19, 2017
Apartment Construction Surges at End of 2016
Written by Sandy Williams
Housing starts rose 11.3 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,226,000 from a November revised rate of 1,102,000. Starts were up 5.7 percent year over year. Single family starts slipped 4 percent from the previous month but apartment type housing of 5 units or more rose 53.9 percent as new project construction commenced.
Building permit authorizations, an indicator of future residential construction growth, was down 0.2 percent from November to a SAAR of 1,210,000. Year over year December permits grew 0.7 percent. Single family permits increased 4.7 percent to 817,000 units from November while permits for structures of 5 units or more showed some slowing with a decrease of 10.1 percent. On a year over year basis, single family permits were up 10.7 percent while 5-plus units fell 17.1 percent.
