Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,356,000. This is 9.6 percent
above the revised July estimate of 1,237,000 and is 3.9 percent above the August 2023 rate of 1,305,000. Single-family housing starts in August were at a rate of 992,000; this is 15.8 percent above the revised July figure of 857,000. The August rate for units in buildings with five units or more was
333,000.Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of
1,475,000. This is 4.9 percent above the revised July rate of 1,406,000, but is 6.5 percent below the August 2023
rate of 1,578,000. Single-family authorizations in August were at a rate of 967,000; this is 2.8 percent above the
revised July figure of 941,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 451,000
in August.
emphasis added
Click on graph for larger image.
The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts since 2000.
Multi-family starts (blue, 2+ units) increased in August compared to July. Multi-family starts were up 5.5% year-over-year.
Single-family starts (red) increased in August and were up 5,1% year-over-year.
The second graph shows single and multi-family housing starts since 1968.
This shows the huge collapse following the housing bubble, and then the eventual recovery – and the recent collapse and recovery in single-family starts.
Total housing starts in August were above expectations and starts in June and July were revised slightly.
I’ll have more later …