Nationwide housing starts in September regained the ground they lost in a steep decline the previous month. September housing starts rose 5.9 percent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.77 million units, in close alignment with July’s 1.76 million-unit rate and the third quarter’s average of 1.74 million units. Single-family starts were up 4.3 percent to a rate of 1.43 million units, while multifamily starts were up 12.7 percent to a rate of 346,000 units.

Issuance of total building permits, which can be a good indicator of future building activity, declined 6.3 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.62 million units. Single-family permits were down 6 percent to a 1.21 million-unit rate while multi-family permits fell 7 percent to a rate of 412,000. Permits were down 3 percent in the Northeast, 6.9 percent in the Midwest and 9.5 percent in the South, and recorded no change from the previous month in the West.