New Residential Construction: Housing Starts, Building Permits Solid in August

New residential construction data from the U.S. Census Bureau was solid August, as both housing starts and building permits beat the median forecast. The report is decisively stronger than what economists had expected.

Housing starts in August came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,180,000, or 0.8% (±9.6%)* below the revised July estimate of 1,190,000. However, it is 1.4% (±8.9%)* above the August 2016 rate of 1,164,000. Single-family housing starts in August came in at a rate of 851,000, or 1.6% (±9.0%)* higher than the revised 838,000 in July.

The August rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 323,000.

Building permits in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,300,000, or 5.7% (±2.0%) higher than the revised rate of 1,230,000 in July and 8.3% (±1.6%) higher than the August 2016 rate of 1,200,000. Single-family authorizations in August came in at a rate of 800,000, or 1.5% (±1.3%) below the revised 812,000 in July.

Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 464,000 in August.

Housing completions were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,075,000 in August, down 10.2% (±12.3 percent)* from the revised estimate of 1,197,000 for July. But it is still 3.4% (±13.0%)* higher than the August 2016 rate of 1,040,000. Single-family housing completions came in at a rate of 724,000 in August, down 13.3% (±14.7%)* from the revised July rate of 835,000.

The August rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 348,000.