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Residential Construction Activity Increases

homes-building-blocksResidential construction is on its way up, with building permit authorizations for privately owned housing units increasing by 8.1 percent from June to July and risingĀ 7.7 percent from July 2013, according to data released on August 19 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD [1]) and the U.S. Census Bureau [2].

The number of permits issued for housing units had a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,052,000, an increase from 973,000 in June and from 977,000 from July of last year, as reported by HUD and the Census Bureau. The number of permits issued to single families also increased from an annual rate of 634,000 in June to 640,000 in July. For buildings with five or more units, the authorization rate was 382,000 in July.

Housing starts that were privately owned also rose by 15.7 percent from June to July, increasing from a rate of 945,000 to 1,093,000, and experienced a year-over-year increase of 21.7 percent from its rate of 898,000 in July 2013, the data reported. Single-family housing starts also experienced a significant month-over-month increase, rising 8.3 percent from June to July (606,000 to 656,000). Housing starts for buildings with five or more units were at a rate of 423,000 in July.

The seasonally adjusted rate in July for privately owned housing completions increased month-over-month in July, jumping from 811,000 to 841,000 (a change of 3.7 percent) and increasing 8.0 percent from 779,000 in July 2013, according to the HUD and Census Bureau report. The rate of single-family housing completions also rose by 6.2 percent from June to July, going from 598,000 to 635,000. For buildings with five or more units, the July rate was 199,000.