According to data released August 18 by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, building permits and housing starts fell slightly in July, reflecting the ongoing low demand for new housing.
Single-family building permit authorizations jumped 5.8 percent in July, to a rate of 458,000, following a 5.9 percent month-over-month increase in June. However, permits for units in buildings with five or more units dropped from June’s rate of 109,000 to 84,000, a decline of 26.3 percent. Overall, building permits for privately owned residential units declined 1.8 percent in July, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000; this is 39.4 percent below the estimated 924,000 permits authorized in July 2008.
After climbing 14.4 percent in June, to a rate of 470,000, single-family housing starts rose just 1.7 percent in July, to a rate of 490,000. Starts for units in buildings of five units or more dropped to 80,000, and the overall rate of privately owned housing starts declined 1 percent, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 581,000—37.7 percent below July 2008’s rate.
Completions of single-family housing starts also were down in July, falling 4.1 percent below June’s rate of 512,000, to 491,000, but completions of units in buildings with more than five units increased from 271,000 in June to 297,000 in July. Overall, completions of privately owned housing dipped 0.9 percent in July, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 802,000—26.4 percent below July 2008’s rate of roughly 1.09 million.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA), however, reported on August 19 that architecture billings bounced back in July after a sharp five-point drop in June. In July the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) rebounded by six points to a rating of 43.1, up from June’s 37.7. However, the AIA notes that this still represents a decline in demand for design services. Inquiries for new projects fell from a score of 53.8 in June to 50.3 in July, but this is the fifth consecutive month in which inquiries scored above 50 (which indicates an increase).
