Global| Aug 16 2013U.S. Housing Starts Rebound As Multi-family Recovers; Single-family Slips
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Housing starts improved 5.9% last month to 896,000 (20.9% y/y) and reversed most of the June decline to 846,000, initially reported as 836,000. The rise nearly matched expectations for 903,000 starts in the Action Economics survey. [...]
Housing starts improved 5.9% last month to 896,000 (20.9% y/y) and reversed most of the June decline to 846,000, initially reported as 836,000. The rise nearly matched expectations for 903,000 starts in the Action Economics survey. Multi-family units increased to 305,000 (33.2% y/y) and recovered most of June's decline. Starts of single-family homes fell 2.2% to 591,000 (+15.4% y/y) following a 1.2% gain. Single-family starts remained just equal, however, to last September's level.
By region, starts in the Northeast rebounded 40.2% to 115,000 (30.7% y/y). In the Midwest, starts gained by one-quarter to 158,000 (36.2% y/y) while starts in the West rose 7.2% to 222,000 (19.4% y/y). Starts in the South fell 7.0% to 401,000 (+14.2% y/y).
Building permits gained 2.7% last month to 943,000 (12.4% y/y). Starts remained, however, 6.2% below the peak level three months earlier. Permits to build single-family homes declined 1.9% to 613,000 (+17.9% y/y) and reversed two months of increase. Permits to build multi-family units rose 12.6% to 330,000 (3.4% y/y) and recovered half of June's drop.
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% | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 896 | 846 | 919 | 20.9 | 781 | 612 | 586 |
| Single-Family | 591 | 604 | 597 | 15.4 | 534 | 434 | 471 |
| Multi-Family | 305 | 242 | 332 | 33.2 | 247 | 178 | 114 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 115 | 82 | 101 | 30.7 | 78 | 68 | 72 |
| Midwest | 158 | 126 | 135 | 36.2 | 129 | 103 | 97 |
| South | 401 | 431 | 482 | 14.2 | 400 | 309 | 296 |
| West | 222 | 207 | 201 | 19.4 | 173 | 132 | 120 |
| Building Permits | 943 | 918 | 985 | 12.4 | 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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