Briefing.com: Housing Starts

Updated: 17-Jul-24 09:51 ET

June Housing Starts

Updated: 17-Jul-24 09:51 ET

Highlights

Total housing starts in June increased 3.0% month-over-month from a depressed base to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.353 million (Briefing.com consensus 1.310 million); however, single-unit starts were down 2.2%.
Total building permits jumped 3.4% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.446 million (Briefing.com consensus 1.391 million); however, permits for single units -- a leading indicator -- were down 2.3%.

Key Factors

The change in single-unit starts by region: Northeast (-2.9%); Midwest (+0.9%); South (+0.5%); and West (-10.2%).
The change in single-unit permits by region: Northeast (+5.2%); Midwest (+6.1%); South (-4.5%); and West (-2.9%).
Multi-unit starts increased 19.6% month-over-month while multi-unit permits increased 15.6% month-over-month.
The number of units under construction at the end of the period decreased 1.5% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.563 million.

Big Picture

The key takeaway from the report is that, while it might have been better than expected relative to consensus estimates, it was not a strong report nor a particularly encouraging report for an inventory-constrained housing market in need of lower-priced, single-family homes.