Overview
- October housing starts fell 4.6% to a 1.25 million annual rate, the weakest since May 2020.
- Single-family starts rose 5.4% to an 874,000 pace while 5-plus unit starts dropped nearly 26%.
- Building permits edged down 0.2% in October to a 1.41 million rate after a September jump.
- Builder sentiment stayed weak at 39 as mortgage rates eased to about 6.25% without a clear demand rebound.
- President Donald Trump proposed banning institutional single-family purchases and urged $200 billion in GSE mortgage-bond buying to lower borrowing costs.