It was a down month for home construction in Wilmington as building permits fell to the lowest level in two years in November, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau.
- M-O-M: Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits fell to 263 in November, down 22.2% from October and the lowest level since November 2021.
- Y-O-Y: Building permits were down 12.0% when compared to the same time last year.
Single-Family. Building permits for 1-unit structures fell to 173 in November, down 16.4% from October and the lowest level since July.
- Single-family building permits are up 45.4% from the same time last year.
North Carolina. Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits fell to 6,761 in November, down 26.4% from October and the lowest level since December 2022.
- Building permits are down 7.1% from the same time last year.
REMINDER: Nationally, building permits fell 2.5% in November but were still up 4.1% from one year ago.
BOTTOM LINE: Homebuilder confidence bottomed in November. The 30-year fixed is down almost a full point from the middle of November so it seems very likely that permits will rise in December.