Global| Aug 19 2014U.S. Housing Starts Recover to Eight-Month High
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Housing starts during July jumped 15.7% to 1,093,000 AR (21.7% y/y) following a 4.0% June decline to 945,000, revised from 893,000. The latest level was the highest since November and easily beat expectations for 965,000 starts in the [...]
Housing starts during July jumped 15.7% to 1,093,000 AR (21.7% y/y) following a 4.0% June decline to 945,000, revised from 893,000. The latest level was the highest since November and easily beat expectations for 965,000 starts in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Last month's increase reflected a 28.9% rebound (44.7% y/y) in starts of multi-family homes after two months of sharp decline. Also improving were starts of single-family homes, up 8.3% (10.1% y/y). That also followed two months of decline.
A 44.0% rebound (26.3% y/y) in starts in the Northeast led last month's total increase. That was followed by a 29.0% rise (27.4% y/y) in the South; the West posted an 18.6% increase (23.4% y/y). Working 24.8% lower (+1.9% y/y) were starts in the Midwest.
Building permits improved 8.1% (7.7% y/y) to the highest level since April. The gain was led by a 21.5% rebound (14.1% y/y) in multi-family permits. Permits to build single-family homes inched 0.9% higher (3.9% y/y) to the highest level since November.
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 % | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1,093 | 945 | 984 | 21.7 | 929 | 783 | 612 |
| Single-Family | 656 | 606 | 634 | 10.1 | 621 | 537 | 434 |
| Multi-Family | 437 | 339 | 350 | 44.7 | 308 | 247 | 178 |
| Starts By Region | |||||||
| Northeast | 144 | 100 | 88 | 26.3 | 96 | 80 | 68 |
| Midwest | 164 | 218 | 164 | 1.9 | 149 | 128 | 103 |
| South | 511 | 396 | 541 | 27.4 | 467 | 400 | 309 |
| West | 274 | 231 | 191 | 23.4 | 217 | 175 | 132 |
| Building Permits | 1,052 | 973 | 1,005 | 7.7 | 964 | 829 | 624 |
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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