Global| Jul 17 2013U.S. Housing Starts Fall Led By Multi-family
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Housing starts during June fell 9.9% to 836,000 (+10.4% y/y) and reversed their May improvement to 928,000, initially reported as 914,000. The decline disappointed expectations for improvement to 950,000 starts in the Action Economics [...]
Housing starts during June fell 9.9% to 836,000 (+10.4% y/y) and reversed their May improvement to 928,000, initially reported as 914,000. The decline disappointed expectations for improvement to 950,000 starts in the Action Economics survey. Starts of multi-family units led the way lower to 245,000 from 332,000 (+7.9% y/y). Starts of single-family homes slipped 0.8% to 591,000 (+11.5% y/y) following May's 0.5% uptick.
By region, starts in the Northeast fell 12.1% to 94,000 (+20.5% y/y). In the South starts declined 12.0% to 424,000 (+14.9% y/y) while starts in the Midwest were off 7.4% to 126,000 (+29.9% y/y). Starts in the West fell 5.4% to 192,000 (-9.9% y/y).
Building permits fell another 7.5% last month to 911,000 (+16.1% y/y). It was the third decline in four months. Permits to build single-family homes edged up 0.6% to 624,000 (+24.6% y/y), the high for the economic recovery. Permits to build multi-family units fell 21.4% to 287,000 (+1.1% y/y).
The housing starts figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure is contained in the AS1REPNA database.
The Semiannual Policy Report To Congress by Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is available here.
| Housing Starts (000s, SAAR) | Jun | May | Apr | Jun Y/Y% | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 836 | 928 | 852 | 10.4 | 781 | 612 | 586 |
| Single-Family | 591 | 596 | 593 | 11.5 | 534 | 434 | 471 |
| Multi-Family | 245 | 332 | 259 | 7.9 | 247 | 178 | 114 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 94 | 107 | 79 | 20.5 | 78 | 68 | 72 |
| Midwest | 126 | 136 | 154 | 29.9 | 129 | 103 | 97 |
| South | 424 | 482 | 412 | 14.9 | 400 | 309 | 296 |
| West | 192 | 203 | 207 | -9.9 | 173 | 132 | 120 |
| Building Permits | 911 | 985 | 1,005 | 20.8 | 800 | 624 | 604 |
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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