We had three month’s worth of housing starts data released this morning due to the government shutdown in October. The number of new units started broke the million level for the first time since 2008. Three of the four regions saw increases in November (the Northeast remains the weakest). Building permits were also higher, however, only marginally compared to large increase in housing starts.

Unfortunately, on the mortgage front the data was more discouraging for the housing market. The MBA Mortgage Application series broke to it’s lowest level since the week of December 29, 2000. The Purchase Applications index fell to it’s lowest level in nearly a year as well.