Starts for Housing Decrease in July amongst Swell of Building Permits

By Stevie Duffin Updated on 12/14/2012

By Daniel Duffield

According to statistics posted by the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development, residential construction maintains its hopeful outlook, persisting in improvement for July in upward bursts in terms of permits, starts, and completions. While data showed starts sliding somewhat, opposite of June measurements, development improved greatly in permitting.

During the month, permits were issued at 812,000 annually at a seasonally adjusted rate. This constitutes a 6.8 percent rise from the June estimate of 760,000. In June, permitting was estimated at a level of 755,000, dropping 3.4 percent from May data. In spite of fluctuations from month to month, permits issued in June increased 29.5 percent since July 2011.

Permits for single family building were issued at a degree of 513,000, increasing 4.5 percent from June’s revised figure of 491,000. For buildings with at least five units, permits were distributed at a level of 274,000, rising from 241,000 in June.

By contrast, Housing starts rose 6.9 percent from May to June, and although the June number was downwardly revised, it still represents a noticeable increase. The July estimate was approximately 1.1 percent lower than the new June estimate, at a rate of 746,000. Last July, the level was 614,000.

Single family starts for the month of July measured 502,000, decreasing by 6.5 from the June reading of 537,000. In terms of multi-family starts, rates measured 229,000 units.

Up 7.1 percent from June’s 668,000 were privately owned home completions. For single family completions, data showed that it rose 5.9 percent to 448,000 from June. Multi-family completions measured 209,000.

For non-seasonally adjusted, 72,000 permits were issued throughout the nation in July with 71,700 housing starts. During that time, 58,000 housing units were finished.

By region, permits issued in the Northeast rose 12.2 percent from June with housing starts decreasing 1.3 percent. In the Midwest, permits dropped 4.2 though starts rose 5.8 percent. In the West, permits increased 14 percent and starts dropped 5.3 percent.

By the end of July, 88,900 permits for residential units were outstanding, with 42,800 being single family residences. Over half of these permits where construction has not yet begun were located within the South. At the end of the period, 489,000 units were under construction, 262,000 of which belonged to single-family units. In total, 210,000 units were incomplete in the South.