June Housing Starts up 9.1% at 1.066mln, Permits up 11.6% 1.091mln - Seasonal Factors
June Housing Starts surged 9.1%, well above expectations and an upwardly revised (977k) May figure but 26.9% below June 2007’s revised 1.458mln units. Single Family Starts fell 5.3% to 647k and buildings with 5 plus units came in at 400k.
June Building Permits skyrocketed to 1.091mln, an 11.6% gain over May’s upwardly revised 978k figure but down 23.9% from June 2007’s revised 1.433mln level.
Single Family Permits were 613k, a drop of 3.5% from May and Permits for buildings with 5-plus units came in at 466k.
June Housing Completions were 1.167mln, up 1.2% from May’s 1.153mln but 21.7% below last June’s 1.491mln units.
The Northeast, specifically NY City, saw a surge in Permits due to rule changes. But for those changes, Permits were up by 0.7% and Starts were down 4%.
Total Homes Under Construction came in at 965k, the lowest level since September 1998. Single Family Homes under Construction, at 507k, was the lowest level since April 1993.
The euphoria from these data should be short-lived but powerful.