Privately owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,534,000, which is 7% below the revised June estimate of 1,650,000 but 2.5% above the July 2020 rate of 1,497,000, according to the latest new residential construction statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Single‐family housing starts last month were at a rate of 1,111,000, or 4.5% below the revised June figure of 1,163,000. The July rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 412,000.
“While the softness in the starts pace is consistent with continuing reports from home builders describing supply chain disruptions and ongoing large construction backlogs, we believe the pace is finding a near-term bottom and will start to move upward in coming months,” says Mark Palim, deputy chief economist at Fannie Mae. “The less volatile permits measure declined only slightly for single-family units.”
Housing units authorized by building permits in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,635,000, which is 2.6% above the revised June rate of 1,594,000 and 6% above the July 2020 rate of 1,542,000. Single‐family authorizations last month were at a rate of 1,048,000, or 1.7% below the revised June figure of 1,066,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 532,000.
“The bright spot in an otherwise underwhelming report comes from the increase in the overall number of permits issued, which can signal how much home construction is in the pipeline,” says Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American. “The importance of more home building cannot be overstated. Inventory has been increasing in recent months, but we have underbuilt for a decade and July’s month-over-month decline in housing starts isn’t welcome news.”
July’s housing completions were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,391,000, which is 5.6% above the revised June estimate of 1,317,000 and is 3.8% above the July 2020 rate of 1,340,000. Single‐family housing completions last month were at a rate of 954,000, or 3.6% above the revised June rate of 921,000. The July rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 426,000.
