Global| Aug 18 2015U.S. Housing Starts Near Eight-Year High; Permits Backpedal
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Housing starts during July edged up 0.2% (11.2% y/y) to 1.206 million (AR) during July from 1.204 million in June, last month reported as 1.174 million. The latest level was the highest figure since October 2007. July's figure [...]
Housing starts during July edged up 0.2% (11.2% y/y) to 1.206 million (AR) during July from 1.204 million in June, last month reported as 1.174 million. The latest level was the highest figure since October 2007. July's figure exceeded expectations for 1.18 million starts in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Single-family starts jumped 12.8% (20.9% y/y) to 782,000 from 693,000. Multi-family starts backpedaled 17.0% (-3.8% y/y) and reversed much of June's jump to 511,000.
Housing starts were mixed m/m throughout the country. Activity in the Midwest improved 20.1% (12.6% y/y) to 179,000, the highest level since August. In the South, starts rose 7.7% (12.7% y/y) to 589,000, a nine month high. Starts in the Northeast fell roughly one quarter (+15.6% y/y) to 161,000 and starts in the West were off 3.1% (+5.6% y/y) to 277,000.
Permits to build housing units reversed three months of increase with a 16.3% decline to 1.119 million units (3.9% y/y). Multi-family permits were off nearly one-third to 440,000 (+0.3% y/y) and single-family permits fell 1.9% to 679,000 (+6.1% y/y).
The housing starts figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure is contained in the AS1REPNA database.
| Housing Starts (000s, SAAR) | Jul | Jun | May | Jul Y/Y % | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1,206 | 1,204 | 1,072 | 11.2 | 1,001 | 928 | 784 |
| Single-Family | 782 | 693 | 697 | 20.9 | 647 | 620 | 537 |
| Multi-Family | 424 | 511 | 375 | -3.8 | 354 | 308 | 247 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 161 | 222 | 143 | 15.6 | 110 | 97 | 80 |
| Midwest | 179 | 149 | 147 | 12.6 | 159 | 149 | 129 |
| South | 589 | 547 | 511 | 12.7 | 497 | 467 | 400 |
| West | 277 | 286 | 271 | 5.6 | 236 | 217 | 175 |
| Building Permits | 1,119 | 1,337 | 1,250 | 3.9 | 1,052 | 987 | 829 |
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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