Global| Sep 18 2013U.S. Housing Starts Inch Higher
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Housing starts during August posted a 0.9% gain to 891,000 (19.0% y/y) and added to the 5.7% July increase to 883,000, revised down from 896,000 reported initially. The latest level fell short of expectations for 916,000 starts in the [...]
Housing starts during August posted a 0.9% gain to 891,000 (19.0% y/y) and added to the 5.7% July increase to 883,000, revised down from 896,000 reported initially. The latest level fell short of expectations for 916,000 starts in the Action Economics survey. Starts of single-family homes improved by 7.0% to 628,000 (16.9% y/y) and reversed a 3.0% July decline. Starts of multi-family units fell 11.1% (+24.1% y/y) to 263,000 after a 28.7% rebound during July.
By region, the 12.0% increase (16.8% y/y) in starts in the South provided all of the lift to last month's total. In the Midwest, starts fell 3.3% (+14.8% y/y) to 147,000 while starts in the Northeast declined 8.2% to 101,000 (+34.7% y/y). Starts in the West fell 10.9% to 204,000 (+20.0% y/y).
Building permits declined 3.8% last month (+11.0% y/y) to 918,000 and reversed all of the prior month's improvement. Permits to build single-family homes gained 3.0% to 627,000 (20.6% y/y) and reached a new high for the economic recovery. Permits to build multi-family units declined 15.7% to 291,000 (-5.2% y/y).
The housing starts figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure is contained in the AS1REPNA database.
Shifting Expectations and Interest Rates from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is available here.
| Housing Starts (000s, SAAR) | Aug | Jul | Jun | Aug Y/Y% | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 891 | 883 | 835 | 19.0 | 781 | 612 | 586 |
| Single-Family | 628 | 587 | 605 | 16.9 | 534 | 434 | 471 |
| Multi-Family | 263 | 296 | 230 | 24.1 | 247 | 178 | 114 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 101 | 110 | 85 | 34.7 | 78 | 68 | 72 |
| Midwest | 147 | 152 | 126 | 14.8 | 129 | 103 | 97 |
| South | 439 | 392 | 419 | 16.8 | 400 | 309 | 296 |
| West | 204 | 229 | 205 | 20.0 | 173 | 132 | 120 |
| Building Permits | 918 | 954 | 918 | 11.0 | 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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