Housing Starts Fall Slightly

Single-family housing starts fell slightly in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of just over 2 million units, according to government figures released Tuesday.However, compared with those of the same month a year ago, single-family starts rose 9.2%. Multifamily starts (five units or more) rose 16.2% in June from the previous month to 302,000 units annualized, compared with 275,000 units in June 2004. Greenwich Capital analyst Steve Stanley said the figures show that housing demand is "torrid rather than scalding," adding that "the bottom line is that the housing sector is still extremely strong and will presumably remain so as long as the demographic/fundamental demand forces are positive and mortgage rates are extremely low by historical standards."