Privately owned housing starts declined on a month-over-month and year-over-year basis in July, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,238,000, 6.8% below the revised June estimate and 16% below the July 2023 rate. Single-family starts in July were at a rate of 851,000, 14.1% below the revised June figure. The July starts rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 363,000.
“There’s no doubt that the new-home market is still struggling with higher interest rates and skittish customers, but today’s release captures some factors retracting from the July number,” says Zonda chief economist Ali Wolf. “Hurricane Beryl wreaked havoc on parts of Houston in July, the second largest new-home production market in the country, resulting in slower starts in the market. An increase in resale supply in parts of Florida is leading to more caution from the home building community.”
Building permits for private housing units in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,396,000, 4% below the revised June rate and 7% below July 2023 levels. Single-family permit authorizations in July were at a rate of 938,000, 0.1% below the revised June figure. Authorizations in units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 408,000 in July.
Privately owned housing completions in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,529,000, 9.8% below June levels and 13.8% below July 2023 estimates.
Single-family completions in July were at a rate of 1,054,000, 0.5% above the revised June rate. The July rate of completions for units in buildings with five units or more was 473,000.
