Housing Starts Fall in June on Fewer Multifamily Units
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New home construction fell in June for a second month as a drop in apartment building outweighed a pickup in single-family projects.
Residential starts declined 0.9% to a 1.25 million annualized rate, the slowest in three months, according to government figures released July 17. Permits, a proxy for future construction, dropped 6.1% to a 1.22 million rate, also reflecting a slump in applications to build multifamily units.
Single-family starts advanced 3.5% to an annualized rate of 847,000, and permits edged up 0.4% to 813,000.
The figures on one-family home construction signals the sector is relatively stable as lower borrowing costs and more subdued price appreciation make homeownership more affordable. Home construction hasn’t contributed to economic growth since the fourth quarter of 2017. A report July 16 showed homebuilder sentiment increased in July amid solid demand for single- family homes and prospective buyer traffic.
Starts of multifamily homes, a category that tends to be volatile and includes apartment buildings and condominiums, slumped 9.2%, and permits plunged 16.8%.
