Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,307,000. This is 8.5 percent below the revised July estimate of 1,429,000 and is 6.0 percent below the August 2024 rate of 1,391,000. Single-family housing starts in August were at a rate of 890,000; this is 7.0 percent below the revised July figure of 957,000. The August rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 403,000.Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of
1,312,000. This is 3.7 percent below the revised July rate of 1,362,000 and is 11.1 percent below the August 2024
rate of 1,476,000. Single-family authorizations in August were at a rate of 856,000; this is 2.2 percent below the
revised July figure of 875,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 403,000
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) decreased month-over-month in August. Multi-family starts were up 8.9% year-over-year.
Single-family starts (red) decreased in August and were down 11.7% year-over-year.
The second graph shows single and multi-family housing starts since 1968.
Total housing starts in August were well below expectations, however, starts in June and July were revised up.
I’ll have more later …