A total of 325 single-family home permits were issued across Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne counties in November, according to the Home Builders Association of Southeastern Michigan in Farmington Hills.
While the end of the year is often impacted by a seasonal slowdown due to the holidays and other factors, November permit activity is 5 percent higher year-over-year.
The association’s econometric model had forecast 248 permits, accounting for seasonality. November marked the sixth consecutive month above 300 permits. Seasonal slowdowns in new home permit activity are expected to level off before turning sharply up in April 2021.
The number of permits in October was adjusted upward to a total of 429, resulting in four consecutive months above 400 permits.
The average new single-family permit value was $316,452, a 9.1 percent increase from the previous month and a 6.6 percent increase from the previous year. The average single-family home sale price was $255,582, a 0.8 percent drop from October and a 13.5 percent increase from November 2019.
“The sustained rebound of new home construction from June through November is truly remarkable given the pressures from COVID – including workplace safety, material price increases, and employment concerns from potential home buyers – coupled with a tense election season,” says Michael Stoskopf, CEO of the association.
“It will be interesting to see how the colder, snowy weather that is typical of December through February will affect the number of actual permits issued compared to what we expect based on economic factors.”
The number of people employed was 1,855,747, an increase of 8.6 percent from the previous month but a drop of 4.9 percent compared to November 2019. The workforce was at 1,982,630, 4.3 percent higher than October but 2.5 percent lower than the previous year.
North American vehicle production was down 6.9 percent compared to October and up 3.7 percent from November 2019, with 1,355,160 units produced. Crude oil price per barrel was $41.46, a 4.7 percent increase from October and a 23.4 percent decrease from November 2019.
