Housing Starts Increase in June, Single-Family Housing Remains Weak
Housing starts in June came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,321,000, 4.6% above the revised May estimate of 1,263,000 but still underperforming June 2024 by 0.5% (Census Bureau).
- However, “Single-family housing starts in June were at a rate of 883,000; this is 4.6% … below the revised May figure of 926,000.”
Building permits: Building permits for private housing came in at an adjusted annual rate of 1,397,000, only a 0.2% increase from May and 4.4% below the June 2024 rate.
- Meanwhile, “Single-family authorizations in June were at a rate of 866,000; this is 3.7% below the revised May figure of 899,000.”
In related news … Weak demand in the housing market has led U.S. homebuilders to cut prices at the highest rate in the past three years, according to the monthly National Association of Home Builders Survey ( CNBC).
- “Builder confidence in July rose 1 point to 33 on the NAHB index, a slight improvement. Still, anything below 50 is considered negative sentiment.”
- “The index stood at 41 last July, and it has been in negative territory now for 15 straight months.”
Some relief: The slight increase in confidence is attributed to the recent passage of tax legislation that secured many pro-growth policies, benefiting households, builders and other businesses.