Housing Starts Continue Summer Upswing

The volume of construction activity for single-family homes continued to rise during the summer month of August, new government data revealed.

According to the Census Bureau, work began on 3% more single-family housing units nationwide in August than the prior month. The housing start rate was 628,000 in August, compared to the revised July figure of 609,000.

Multifamily properties—building units with five units or more—had an August rate of 252,000, the Bureau reported.

Overall, privately owned housing starts in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 891,000. This is 0.9% above the revised July estimate of 883,000 and is 19% greater than the 749,000 rate a year ago.

Building permits were approved for 627,000 projects, which is 3% more than the July figure of 609,000. Authorizations for construction on multifamily buildings were at a rate of 268,000 in August.

The Census Bureau said 573,000 single-family housing projects were completed in August, a 0.5% increase from the previous month which saw 570,000 construction assignments finished. Out of this figure, 191,000 completions occurred on multifamily buildings.