From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions
Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,211,000. This is 2.1 percent above the revised June estimate of 1,186,000 and is 5.6 percent above the July 2015 rate of 1,147,000.Single-family housing starts in July were at a rate of 770,000; this is 0.5 percent above the revised June figure of 766,000. The July rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 433,000.
Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,152,000. This is 0.1 percent below the revised June rate of 1,153,000, but is 0.9 percent above the July 2015 estimate of 1,142,000.Single-family authorizations in July were at a rate of 711,000; this is 3.7 percent below the revised June figure of 738,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 411,000 in July
emphasis added
Click on graph for larger image.
The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts for the last several years.
Multi-family starts (red, 2+ units) increased in July compared to June. Multi-family starts are up 13% year-over-year.
Single-family starts (blue) increased in July, and are up 1.3% year-over-year.
The second graph shows total and single unit starts since 1968.
The second graph shows the huge collapse following the housing bubble, and then – after moving sideways for a couple of years – housing is now recovering (but still historically low),
Total housing starts in July were above expectations, however combined starts for May and June were revised down. I’ll have more later …