Housing starts in July rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.206 million, 0.2 percent above the revised June estimate of 1.204 million and 10.1 percent higher than the July 2014 rate.
Housing activity was mixed across regions, with starts rising in the Midwest and South by 20.1 percent and 7.7 percent respectively, while starts in the North and West fell by 27.5 percent and 3.1 percent.
New building permits fell in July, dropping 16.3 percent below June’s revised estimate to 1.119 million, but increasing 7.5 percent from the previous year. The drop in permits issued fell sharply in the Northeast, falling 60.2 percent month-over-month. Permits for single-family units fell 1.9 percent to a rate of 679,000, while multi-family permits were at a rate of 412,000.
Housing completions in July were at a rate of 987,000, up 2.4 percent from June’s estimate and 14.6 percent from July of last year.
Read the Census release.
