Home Starts Improve, but There’s a Catch; Rates Knocking on 5% Ceiling

Home Starts Improve, but There’s a Catch; Rates Knocking on 5% Ceiling

Both permits and starts were expected to pick up in August, at least holding on to their slight gains in July. Housing starts did deliver, posting a strong increase, but permits, a leading indicator, were down sharply. The U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development report that permits fell by 5.7 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,229,000 compared to the July rate of 1,303,000. The July number was a downward revision from the 1,311,000 units originally reported. This knocks the rate of permitting below the August 2017 level of 1,300,000 units by 5.5 percent. Analysts polled by Econoday were looking for permitting to come in at a consensus rate of 1,315,000 units with a range of 1,260,000 to 1,323,000. Permits for single family houses were reported