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Housing Starts Surge in July as Builders Try to Keep Up With Demand

Housing starts remained remarkably healthy in July, increasing 8.3% to a seasonably adjusted annual rate of 1.978 million units, the U.S. Commerce Department reported last week, putting the rate of new residential construction 4.5% ahead of its pace a year earlier.

“Builders remain confident about the market and expect to maintain a healthy pace through the coming months as we strive to keep up with strong demand for single-family homes and condominiums” said NAHB President Bobby Rayburn.

“Favorable market conditions continue to bode well for housing,” said NAHB economist Michael Carliner. “Mortgage rates remain extremely attractive on an historical basis and with house price performance remaining solid and continued increases in household formations, we expect housing to remain strong.”

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Single-family housing starts increased 8.5% in July to a rate of 1.651 million, 7.5% higher than a year earlier.

Multifamily units were started at a seasonally adjusted rate of 327,000 units, increasing 7.5% from June and 8.4% from a year earlier.

Construction of new homes and apartments in July increased 15.8% in the West, 15.7% in the Northeast and 4.3% in both the Midwest and South.

“Builders are positioned quite well. Inventories remain lean, there’s a sizeable backlog of unfilled orders and buyer demand promises to remain strong,” said Carliner.
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