SF Housing Starts Edge Up

Single-family housing starts edged up 0.5% in July as construction activity continued to stay ahead of last year's pace.The U.S. Census Bureau reported that single-family starts increased from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.70 million in June to 1.71 million in July. The July start rate was 3% above that of July 2004. A monthly survey of builder attitudes suggests that "new-home sales and starts will continue to be brisk in the coming months," according to National Association of Home Builders chief economist David Seiders. In most parts of the country, builders remain confident about sales and are concerned mainly about the high cost of land and shortages of lots. But in the Midwest, builders are concerned about economic conditions and job losses, particularly in the auto industry, Mr. Seiders said. The August survey of builder confidence slipped three points to 67, but in the Midwest it slipped from 48 to 45. (Any number below 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as poor than good.) Meanwhile, multifamily starts of five or more units fell 5.6% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 289,000 units, down from 306,000 units in June.