Permits to build apartment units drove up overall housing permits last month. But completed construction was pulled down by single-family activity.
In places that issue permits, there were a preliminary
122,600 new privately owned housing units that were authorized during the month of August.
That was more than the upwardly revised 101,000 permits
issued the prior month and the upwardly revised 111,600 permits issued a year prior.
Based on historical data from the
Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development, which reported last month’s numbers Tuesday, there were 857,500 permits issued during first-eight months of this year.
Applying seasonal adjustments, the annual rate of permits was a preliminary 1.300 million during the most-recent month. The rate jumped 6 percent from the downwardly revised rate for July and climbed 8 percent from the
upwardly revised 1.200 million rate in August 2016.
The month-over-month increase was driven by a 23 percent surge in permits for multifamily units
to an annual rate of 464,000. One-unit permits dipped 2 percent to an annual rate of 800,000.
The overall
annual rate of permits was 362,000 in the West, soaring from July by 15 percent — more than any other region. A 9 percent increase in the Midwest left the rate there at 185,000, while the South was up 4 percent to 646,000.
Only the Northeast’s annual rate experienced a decline: 13 percent to 107,000.
The report indicated that there were a seasonally adjusted 152,000 U.S. housing units authorized but not yet started as of Aug. 31.
Construction was started at a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of 1.180 million, dipping 1 percent from the downwardly revised rate July 2017 but up 1 percent from the upwardly revised rate in August 2016.
National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist Robert Dietz noted in a written statement that single-family starts continued to move forward at a gradual but consistent pace.
“The three-month average for single-family production has reached a post-recession high, but the months ahead may show volatility given that the building markets affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma represent about 14 percent of national production,” Dietz said.
There were a seasonally adjusted 1.082 million units under construction at the end of last month.
Construction was completed on 101,000 U.S. housing units during August 2017, fewer than an upwardly revised 102,500 a month earlier but more than a downwardly revised 98,000 a year earlier.
From Jan. 1, 2017, through Aug. 31, construction was completed on 740,500 units.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, construction was completed at an annual rate of 1.075 million. The rate tumbled 10 percent from the upwardly revised rate in July of this year but was up 3 percent from the downwardly revised rate in August of last year.
One-unit construction sank 13 percent from the preceding month to an annual rate of 724,000, while completed construction on properties with five or more units declined 2 percent to a rate of 348,000.
The total rate plummeted 22 percent in the South to 491,000. The West’s rate fell 4 percent to 270,000, and the Midwest experienced a 1 percent dip to 173,000.
But in the Northeast, construction soared 29 percent to an annual rate of 141,000.
NAHB Chairman
Granger MacDonald said, “We are playing close attention to the communities affected by these hurricanes, and are helping them start on the rebuilding and restoration process.”
