Sep
19

U.S. Housing Starts Steady, Permits Rise Ahead of Hurricanes

By

Steady U.S. new-home construction in August together with a jump in permits indicate the housing market was moving ahead before a likely temporary hit from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, government figures showed Tuesday.

HIGHLIGHTS OF HOUSING STARTS (AUGUST)

  • Residential starts fell 0.8% m/m to a 1.18m annualized rate (est. 1.174m) after upwardly revised 1.19m pace the prior month
  • Single-family home starts rose 1.6% to 851k; multifamily starts, such as apartment buildings and condominiums, fell 6.5% to 329k
  • Permits, a proxy for future construction, rose 5.7% to 1.3m rate (est. 1.22m), highest since January, from 1.23m pace
  • Data collection on housing starts was below normal in Texas, Florida areas affected by storms

Key Takeaways

The pace of groundbreaking may show swings for several months following Harvey’s extensive damage to southeast Texas in late August and Irma’s landfall in Florida in early September. Higher prices for construction materials also have the potential to pinch the industry, which is already contending with a shortage of workers and ready-to-build lots…

U.S. Housing Starts Steady, Permits Rise Ahead of Hurricanes

Share
Categories : Real Estate

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.