US housing starts rebound sharply in November

Housing starts prints stronger than expected figures in November. Total starts rose 10.5%, to 1.17mn, undoing much of the larger-than-expected October decline (11%). The level of starts in November was above forecast (1.12mn) and consensus (1.13mn) expectation.

 Both single- and multi-family starts rose. An increase in housing starts in the South drove the overall rise in the series. In October, housing starts declined sharply in the South, as large rain storms likely limited building; this month's increase brings the level of starts in the South back in line with the series' late summer readings. In a better indicator of the overall strength of the housing market, building permits posted a robust 11% m/m increase, following a 5.1% rise in October. Once again, the increase in permits was driven by multi-family units.

"Better-than-expected starts in November, particularly for the single family sector, suggest a bit more construction spending over the next several months. This boosted our tracking estimate of residential investment; however, our Q4 GDP tracking estimate remains unchanged at 1.9% after rounding", says Barclays.