New Residential Construction Falters in July
Building permits and housing starts slide from June but still show improvement over 2010. Housing completions rise 6.1 percent over June.
The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for July 2011:
BUILDING PERMITS
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 597,000. This is 3.2 percent (±1.2%) below the revised June rate of 617,000, but is 3.8 percent (±2.2%) above the July 2010 estimate of 575,000.
Single-family authorizations in July were at a rate of 404,000; this is 0.5 percent (±0.9%)* above the revised June figure of 402,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 171,000 in July.
HOUSING STARTS
Privately-owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 604,000. This is 1.5 percent (±10.7%)* below the revised June estimate of 613,000, but is 9.8 percent (±10.8%)* above the July 2010 rate of 550,000.
Single-family housing starts in July were at a rate of 425,000; this is 4.9 percent (±8.9%)* below the revised June figure of 447,000. The July rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 170,000.
HOUSING COMPLETIONS
Privately-owned housing completions in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 636,000. This is 11.8 percent (±13.7%)* above the revised June estimate of 569,000 and is 9.5 percent (±13.8%)* above the July 2010 rate of 581,000.
Single-family housing completions in July were at a rate of 470,000; this is 6.1 percent (±12.6%)* above the revised June rate of 443,000. The July rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 158,000.
