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Issuance of total building permits decreased 5.5% from the upwardly revised July pace to a seasonably adjusted rate of 1.952 million units. However, permits were up 10% on a year-to-date basis.
“The housing market recently has been buoyed by a healthy combination of strong demographics, improving employment and income growth and a downshift in long-term interest rates,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “Naysayers talking about a housing bubble should look at the fundamentals that are in place and see that the national housing market is extremely sound.”
August’s housing starts were widely viewed as another encouraging sign that economic growth is returning to more vigorous levels following a slowdown this summer that the Federal Reserve has largely attributed to high oil prices.
Single-family housing starts in August increased 0.4% to a pace of 1.667 million, which was 11.6% higher than the same month a year earlier. Multifamily housing starts increased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 333,000 units, 1.5% above the July pace, but 2.3% below a year earlier.
“Starts are likely to slip a bit in the fourth quarter as interest rates firm up, but it’s now clear that single-family home production will hit a new annual record in 2004,” Seiders added.
Construction of new homes and apartments in August increased across all regions but the West, where they declined 4.7% following a strong surge during the previous month. Starts were up 6.5% in the Northeast, 4.8% in the Midwest and 1.0% in the South.
Single-family permit issuance last month decreased by 3.0% and multifamily permits were down 13.8% from the July pace.
Register Today for NAHB's Fall Construction Forecast Conference
Get the latest forecasts on housing starts, project budgets and other economic bellwethers of the housing industry at NAHB's Fall Construction Forecast Conference at the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 27. Click here for more information and to register.
Coming Oct. 1: HousingEconomics Online
HousingEconomics Online is the new online publication from the leading economists at NAHB.
Available Oct. 1 at BuilderBooks.com, HousingEconomics Online combines unique scientific research with practical applications providing insights that are original, useful and written in terms that builders, manufacturers and housing finance professionals can understand and apply to their own businesses.
This interactive Web site at the executive level provides critical data and information quickly, easily and frequently and includes the following features:
- Home Builders Forecast
- The Desktop Analyst
- Dave Seiders’ Report
- Housing Activity
- Housing Policy Focus
- Multifamily Housing Quarterly
- Housing Market Statistics
For more details, go to HousingEconomics Online at BuilderBooks.com.
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