U.S. Building Permits Fell 0.1% in July
Source: The Wall Street Journal.
U.S. Building Permits Fell 0.1% in July
Permits had risen the prior three months
By Ben Leubsdorf and Eric Morath
ben.leubsdorf@wsj.com
http://twitter.com/BenLeubsdorf
Eric.Morath@wsj.com
http://twitter.com/EricMorath
Aug. 16, 2016 8:34 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON—Housing starts rose in July but building-permit issuance fell slightly, a possible sign of caution ahead among home builders despite historically low interest rates for home buyers.
Building permits issued for privately owned housing units ticked down 0.1% in July from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual level of 1.152 million, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Permits had risen the prior three months. Construction typically starts within a month or two of a permit being issued.
Permits for residential construction fell 2.2% in the first seven months of 2016 compared with a year earlier, reflecting a 7.2% increase in permits for new single-family homes that was offset by weakness in the multifamily category.
Housing starts last month rose 2.1% from June to an annual rate of 1.211 million, slower than June’s 5.1% gain. Starts in July remained just below their February level of 1.213 million.
Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-building-permits-fell-0-1-in-july-1471350871
The Wall Street Journal. is nearly unique with its downbeat take on the Commerce Department's release. Just about every other source talked up the increase in housing starts. For example:
Published: Aug 16, 2016 8:32 a.m. ET
By Andrea Riquier
Home builders broke ground on more structures than expected in July as confidence in the economy and demand for housing continues to expand.
Housing starts ran at a seasonally adjusted 1.21 million annual rate, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, a 2.1% increase over an upwardly-adjusted June figure. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast 1.18 million.
Permits were at a 1.15 million annual rate in July, essentially flat from a revised June reading. ... Single-family starts edged up 0.5% to a 770,000 annual pace. Most of the strength in July came from multifamily starts, which popped 8.3% to a 433,000 annual rate.
The pace of new construction has increased only very slowly since the recession ended. Overall housing starts are 5.6% higher compared to a year ago, and July’s figure was the second-best of the recovery, but it’s still much lower than levels notched even before the housing bubble began to swell.
= new reply since forum marked as read
