Monthly reports on housing permits, starts, and completions from the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD show that 2011 ended on a positive note. Compiled results for the entire year display minor improvements over 2010 with total residential permits starts increasing by 1.2 percent throughout 2011 when compared with 2010 and all housings starts (single and multifamily) rising by 3.4 percent throughout 2011. The total number of housing starts in 2011 was estimated at 606,900 residences.
Numbers specifically for single-family construction also climbed for both permits and starts in monthly and year-over-year statistics. The December 2011 figures continue the recent trend of single-family housing demonstrating improvement, even if only by small percentages. In December 2011, 444,000 permits were issued in for single-family houses, which is 1.8 percent higher than November permits. Also in December, single-family housing starts climbed even higher above their previous monthly figures, showing a growth of 4.4 percent. Total combined housing starts for single and multifamily have the most hopeful figures with a jump of 24.9 percent over December 2010 totals.