Housing starts increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.282 million in August, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The figure was 9.2 percent above the July rate of 1.174 million and 9.4 percent higher than the August 2017 rate. Single-family home starts rose 1.9 percent from last month. Multifamily increased 27.3 percent since July and are up 37.1 percent since August 2017.
Housing activity increased in three of the four regions as the Midwest, South, and West increased 9.1 percent, 6.5 percent, and 19.1 percent, respectively. Housing starts in the Northeast were unchanged from the previous month.
New building permits fell during the month, decreasing 5.7 percent to 1.229 million. Both multifamily and single-family building permits decreased, slipping 8.0 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively. New building permits were down 5.5 percent from the August 2017 rate.
Housing completions were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.213 million, 2.5 percent above the July estimate and 11.2 percent above the August 2017 rate.
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