Global| Aug 16 2006July Housing Starts Down Further
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Housing starts fell for the fourth straight month in July, by 2.5% to 1.795M units. The decline slightly outpaced Consensus expectations for drop to 1.81M starts. Total housing starts in July were 20.8% below the peak this past [...]
Housing starts fell for the fourth straight month in July, by 2.5% to 1.795M units. The decline slightly outpaced Consensus expectations for drop to 1.81M starts.
Total housing starts in July were 20.8% below the peak this past January.
Single-family starts fell 2.3% last month to 1.453M, down 20.0% from the January peak. Multi family starts also fell another 3.4%.
By region, single family housing starts dropped 9.5% (-25.8% y/y) in the West. In the Midwest starts also fell by 2.3% (-18.9% y/y) and single family starts in the South slipped 0.5% (-9.1% y/y). In the Northeast stats rose 12.2% (-26.3% y/y).
Building permits fell for the sixth consecutive month, dropping another 6.5%.
The July 2006 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices from the Federal Reserve Board is available here.
| Housing Starts (000s, AR) | July | June | Y/Y | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1,795 | 1,841 | -13.3% | 2,073 | 1,950 | 1,854 |
| Single-family | 1,452 | 1,486 | -16.6% | 1,719 | 1,604 | 1,505 |
| Multi-family | 343 | 355 | 3.9% | 354 | 345 | 349 |
| Building Permits | 1,747 | 1,869 | -20.8% | 2,159 | 2,058 | 1,888 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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