Global| Sep 19 2017U.S. Housing Starts Ease While Permits Rise Ahead of Hurricanes' Major Impacts
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
In the month before housing starts & permits were meaningfully affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, stability in these housing data was evident. Total starts eased 0.8% (+0.5 y/y) to 1.180 million units (AR) in August from 1.190 [...]
In the month before housing starts & permits were meaningfully affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, stability in these housing data was evident. Total starts eased 0.8% (+0.5 y/y) to 1.180 million units (AR) in August from 1.190 million units in July, revised from 1.155 million units. Starts of 1.175 million had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Single-family starts increased 1.6% (14.4% y/y) to 851,000 from 838,000. Starts of multi-family units declined 6.5% (-25.1% y/y) to 329,000, the lowest level in nine months.
By region, starts in the Northeast declined 8.7% (-19.0% y/y) to 105,000 led by 18.8% fewer multi-family starts. In the South, starts fell 7.9% (-1.4% y/y) paced by a one-third m/m drop in multi-family starts. In the Midwest, starts increased 22.0% (14.2% y/y) to 200,000, as multi-family starts almost doubled m/m. Starts in the West gained 4.0% (5.0% y/y) to 312,000 as single-family starts rose 6.5%.
Building permits increased 5.7% (2.6% y/y) to 1.300 million from 1.230 million in July. Permits to build single-family homes eased 1.5% to 880,000 (+7.3% y/y), while multi-family permits strengthened 19.6% (14.4% y/y) to 500,000.
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 % | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1,180 | 1,190 | 1,217 | 0.5 | 1,17 | 1,107 | 1,001 |
| Single-Family | 851 | 838 | 857 | 14.4 | 784 | 712 | 647 |
| Multi-Family | 329 | 352 | 360 | -25.1 | 393 | 395 | 355 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 105 | 115 | 158 | -19.0 | 116 | 136 | 109 |
| Midwest | 200 | 164 | 202 | 14.2 | 185 | 150 | 159 |
| South | 563 | 611 | 529 | -1.4 | 584 | 556 | 497 |
| West | 312 | 300 | 328 | 5.0 | 292 | 265 | 236 |
| Building Permits | 1,300 | 1,230 | 1,275 | 2.6 | 1,207 | 1,178 | 1,053 |
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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