Housing Starts & Building Permits See Drop in October

“In investing, what is comfortable is rarely profitable.”
— Robert Arnott

The U.S. government is reporting that privately owned housing starts in October 2025 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,246,000, which is 4.6% lower than September’s revised number and is 7.8% lower than one year ago. October’s rate for buildings with five units or more was 481k. Privately owned housing units authorised by building permits in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,412,000, which is 0.2% lower than September’s revised number and is 1.1% lower than one year ago. Authorisations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 481k in October.