October housing starts slipped to a 1.246 million annual pace
Calculated Risk said total housing starts were 7.8% lower than a year earlier, while multifamily construction remained ahead year to date.
By Sofia Marchetti · Columnist
· 2 min read
U.S. homebuilding slowed in October, with housing starts running at a 1.246 million annual rate, according to the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter. For everyday investors, starts are a useful read on the new-construction pipeline that feeds homebuilders, building-products companies and parts of the housing finance market.
Calculated Risk said the Census Bureau released housing-starts data for both September and October as it continues to catch up on delayed reporting. November figures were still missing, according to the newsletter.
A housing start is counted when construction begins on a new residential building. The annual rate takes one month of activity and expresses it as if that pace continued for a full year, which makes month-to-month data easier to compare with longer-term trends.
The October figure showed total starts down 7.8% from October 2024, Calculated Risk reported. That year-over-year comparison is often more useful than a single monthly move because housing construction can swing with weather, financing conditions and the timing of large apartment projects.
Single-family lagged while multifamily gained
Through October, total housing starts were 0.7% below the same period in 2024, according to Calculated Risk. The split by property type showed a sharper divide beneath the headline number.
Single-family starts were down 7.0% year to date, while multifamily starts were up 18.0% over the same period, Calculated Risk said. Single-family starts generally refer to detached homes, while multifamily starts include apartment buildings and other projects with multiple units.
That mix matters because different companies feel the impact in different ways. A slowdown in single-family starts can weigh on businesses tied to new detached homes, while stronger multifamily activity can support demand for materials and services used in larger residential projects.
Calculated Risk also highlighted a chart comparing monthly total starts in 2025 with 2024. The October reading placed 2025 below the prior-year level for that month, while the year-to-date total remained only slightly lower because earlier months helped offset part of the decline.
The next data point investors are waiting on is November, which Calculated Risk said had not yet been released by the Census Bureau. Until that report arrives, the October figures offer the latest official snapshot of how fast builders were starting new homes heading into the final stretch of the year.
This story draws on original reporting from Calculated Risk.
