Housing starts jump 8% as single-family rebounds

There was a rebound for housing starts in June following a weak May

Housing starts jump 8% as single-family rebounds
There was a rebound for housing starts in June following a weak May.

Data from the HUD and Commerce Department shows an 8.3% jump to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.22 million units.

This was led by a 6.3% rise for single-family starts to a SAAR of 849,000 from 799,000 in May, making it the second-best month so far in 2017. Multi-family starts jumped too, up 13.3% to a SAAR of 366,000.

“We are seeing housing production return to trend after a softer reading last month,” said National Association of Home Builders’ chief economist Robert Dietz. “The gradual growth in single-family starts in 2017 is in line with our forecast, and we should see this sector continue to strengthen throughout the year as consumers show interest in the housing market.”

The Northeast saw a surge in combined single-family and multi-family starts, rising 83.7%. The Midwest was second with a 22% rise while there was a modest 1.6% rise in the West. Starts fell 3.8% in the South in June.

The figures also show a rise in homebuilding intentions with a 7.4% rise in permits issued nationwide to a SAAR of 1.25 million units. Single-family permits were up 4.1% to 811,000 units while multi-family permits increased 13.9% to 443,000.

The Midwest led permit issuance gains (19.7%) while the West (9.9%) and South (6.9%) also gained. There were 13.9% fewer permits issued in the Northeast.