US total housing starts were flat in Oct compared to Sept. Total permits were up +4%, and were up +3.4% compared to Oct 2020.
Single-family starts were down a bit compared to Sept, but single-family permits were up +2.7%.
Year-to-date data shows both total and single-family starts up significantly in Jan to Oct 2021, at +20% and +17.3% respectively, compared to the first ten months of last year. This indicates yet more strong home construction activity to come.
Lumber prices have flatted out somewhat after falling from highs at the end of the summer. Currently softwood lumber prices match quite closely to where they were at this time last year.