Housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.615 million in August, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This is 3.9% above the revised July estimate of 1.554 million and is 17.4% above the August 2020 rate of 1.376 million.
Housing starts were mixed across the country, increasing in the South (1.4%), Northeast (167.2%), Midwest (11.4%), and decreasing in the West (21.1%).
New building permits were 1.728 million in August, 6.0% above the previous month and 13.5% higher year-over-year. Single-family building permits increased 0.6% from the revised July figure.
Housing completions were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.330 million. This is 4.5% below the revised July estimate of 1.392 million but is 9.4% above the August 2020 rate of 1.216 million.
Read the Census release.