Privately owned housing starts in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,416,000, which is 5.1% below the revised July estimate of 1,492,000, but 2.8% above the August 2019 rate of 1,377,000, according to the monthly new residential construction data from the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The data also states August single-family housing starts were at a rate of 1,021,000, a 4.1% increase from the revised July figure of 981,000, and the rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 375,000.
“The recent monthly slowdown in starts was driven by a fall in the multifamily construction (two-plus units) component, which had seen a large increase in July,” says Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae. “In contrast, single-family housing starts rose 4.1% to 1.02 million annualized units, a pace nearly matching February’s pre-COVID-19 rate of construction.”
Housing units authorized by building permits in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,470,000, which is 0.9% below the revised July rate of 1,483,000 and is 0.1% below the August 2019 rate of 1,471,000. Single-family authorizations last month were at a rate of 1,036,000, a 6% increase from the revised July figure of 977,000, and authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 381,000.
Housing completions in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,233,000, roughly 7.5% below the revised July estimate of 1,333,000 and also is 2.4% below the August 2019 rate of 1,263,000. Single-family housing completions last month were at a rate of 912,000, which is 4.4% below the revised July rate of 954,000. The August rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 312,000.
“August’s report shows that ground-breaking on single-family homes is up 12% relative to last year and 4% compared with last month,” says Odeta Kushi, First American deputy chief economist. “Similarly, permits for single-family homes, a leading indicator of future starts, increased relative to the same time last year and last month. The same cannot be said of multifamily construction, which experienced declines in permits and starts, indicating slowing.”
