Housing Starts, Permits and Completions all Moved Higher in July

The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that privately‐owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,496,000. This is 22.6% above the revised June estimate of 1,220,000 and is 23.4% above the July 2019 rate of 1,212,000. Single-family housing starts in July were at a rate of 940,000; this is 8.2% above the June revised rate. The July rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 547,000. Permits are the forward-looking part of the report and privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,495,000. This is 18.8% above the revised June rate of 1,258,000 and is 9.4% above the July 2019 rate of 1,366,000. Single-family authorizations in July were at a rate of 983,000; this is 17.0% above the revised June figure. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 467,000 in July. Privately-owned housing completions in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,280,000. This is 3.6 % above the revised June estimate of 1,236,000 and is 1.7% above the July 2019 rate. Single-family housing completions in July were at a rate of 909,000; this is -1.8% below the revised June rate. The July rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 364,000.