Housing construction

Housing starts in August totaled 1.356mm, 38k above the estimate vs 1.237mm in July and 1.329mm in June. Single family was the main swing factor over the past few months. In June they were 983k, fell to 857k in July and came in at 992k in August, the same figure seen in May. It was over 1mm in the first 4 months of the year. Hurricane Beryl was the likely factor in July, as they fell notably in the South. Multi family starts were 364k vs 380k in July and 346k in June and is well off the highs in the 600k range in 2022 as easy money and rising home prices then encouraged the construction of apartment buildings. Now, it doesn’t pencil out to the same extent.

Permits, the precursor to an eventual start, rose to a 5 month high with gains for both single and multi family, but both too well off their highs.