Global| Sep 20 2016U.S. Housing Starts and Building Permits Decline
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Housing starts fell 5.8% during August (+0.9% y/y) to 1.142 million following a 1.4% July increase to 1.212 million, revised from 1.211 million. It was the lowest level of starts in three months. Expectations were for 1.19 million [...]
Housing starts fell 5.8% during August (+0.9% y/y) to 1.142 million following a 1.4% July increase to 1.212 million, revised from 1.211 million. It was the lowest level of starts in three months. Expectations were for 1.19 million starts in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Starts of single-family homes declined 6.0% (-1.2% y/y) to 722,000 following a 0.7% improvement. It was the lowest level of starts since October. Multi-family starts, which include apartments & condominiums, fell 5.4% (+4.7% y/y) to 420,000.
By region, starts were mixed last month. In the South, starts declined 14.8% (-13.1% y/y) to the lowest level since February. Elsewhere in the country, starts improved. In the Northeast, starts increased 7.6% (24.8% y/y) to the highest level since March. Starts in the Midwest rose 5.6% (17.1% y/y), but remained 19.0% below the February high. Starts in the West gained 1.8% (15.7% y/y) to the highest level in three months.
Permits to build a new home eased 0.4% last month (-2.3% y/y) to 1.139 million following a 0.8% dip. Permits to build single-family homes increased 3.7% (3.8% y/y) and reversed July's decline. Multi-family permits declined 7.2% (-11.8% y/y) to the lowest level since April.
The housing starts and permits figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure is contained in the AS1REPNA database.
| Housing Starts (000s, SAAR) | Aug | Jul | Jun | Aug Y/Y % | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1,142 | 1,212 | 1,195 | 0.9 | 1,107 | 1,001 | 928 |
| Single-Family | 722 | 768 | 763 | -1.2 | 713 | 648 | 618 |
| Multi-Family | 420 | 444 | 432 | 4.7 | 395 | 356 | 307 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 141 | 131 | 113 | 24.8 | 136 | 110 | 97 |
| Midwest | 171 | 162 | 190 | 17.1 | 151 | 163 | 150 |
| South | 543 | 637 | 589 | -13.1 | 555 | 496 | 464 |
| West | 287 | 282 | 303 | 15.7 | 265 | 235 | 215 |
| Building Permits | 1,139 | 1,144 | 1,153 | -2.3 | 1,164 | 1,052 | 991 |
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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