Residential building permits rose 11 percent over October, 2015, and 19.5 percent higher than Nov. 2014, according to what realtor reports from the statistics issued by the Census Bureau and the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Multifamily building permits rose 30.8 percent month-over-month and 38.9 percent year-over-year. The West and the Midwest both reported gains of 22 percent in November. The South saw a 5.6 percent gain over the previous month, while in the Northeast there was no change.

MHProNews has learned housing starts moved up 10.5 percent from last month, and 16.5 percent up over last Nov. But numbers were mixed when it comes to completions: completions fell 3.2 percent from October but rose 9.2 percent over November 2014.

Realtor Economist Jonathan Smoke, commenting on the tight inventory in the real estate market, said, “This is precisely the direction we need to address the fact that we have a housing shortage that is causing both prices and rents to increase, and the pace of new construction has not been keeping pace with the rate of household formation.” ##

(Image credit: theatlanticcities–home planning)

Article submitted by Matthew J. Silver to Daily Business News-MHProNews.