Dive Brief:

• The National Association of Home Builders, subbing for furloughed number-crunchers at the U.S. Census Bureau, estimates that total housing starts for September were at an annualized rate of 8675,000 to 900,000.
• Building began on single-family houses at an annual rate of 620,000 to 630,000, NAHB estimated.
• Multifamily buildings began to rise at a rate of 255,000 to 270,000 per year.

Dive Insight:

Chief Economist David Crowe said the estimate for starts on single-family homes was based on expecting a continuation of August's recovery from a lower July number as well as indications from the Federal Reserve Board that it is not going to back off its practice of keeping rates low. Multifamily starts have been up and down all year, and Crowe said NAHB expected "some" recovery from August's pace and a monthly rate of about 300,000 for the rest of the year.