Mighty Multifamily

While housing starts were up 6.3% in September compared to August, the increase was led by an 18.5% rise in multifamily and a 1.1% rise in single-family. YTD single-family starts are up just 4%; multifamily are up 23%! Single-family permits now stand at 624,000 seasonally-adjusted, essentially unchanged from where they were in 2/13, when they hit 611,000, and surpassed 600,000 for the first time since the end of the recession.