Housing starts decreased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.416 million in August, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This is 5.1% below the revised July estimate of 1.492 million, but is 2.8% above the August 2019 rate of 1.377 million. Single-family home starts increased 4.1% from last month.
Housing starts were mixed across the country, rising in the West (19.5%) and Midwest (28.4%) but falling in the South (17.7%) and Northeast (33.1%).
New building permits fell to 1.470 million in August, decreasing 0.9% over the month and 0.1% year-over-year. Single-family building permits increased 6.0% from the revised July figure.
Housing completions were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.233 million, down 7.5% from the revised July estimate and 2.4% below the August 2019 rate.
Read the Census release.
