Menu
Posted August 18, 2021

New Housing Starts Slide 7 Percent in July

Single-family starts slip 4.5 percent for month.


The residential building bottleneck is getting tighter; High material costs and a shortage of  workers are causing builders to throttle back production.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for July 2021:

Building Permits

Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,635,000.  This is 2.6 percent (±0.9 percent) above the revised June rate of 1,594,000 and is 6.0 percent (±0.9 percent) above the July 2020 rate of 1,542,000.  

Single‐family authorizations in July were at a rate of 1,048,000; this is 1.7 percent (±0.8 percent) below the revised June figure of 1,066,000.  Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 532,000 in July.

Housing Starts

Privately‐owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,534,000.  This is 7.0 percent (±8.9 percent)* below the revised June estimate of 1,650,000, but is 2.5 percent (±10.9 percent)* above the July 2020 rate of 1,497,000.  

Single‐family housing starts in July were at a rate of 1,111,000; this is 4.5 percent (±9.9 percent)* below the revised June figure of 1,163,000. The July rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 412,000.  

Housing Completions

Privately‐owned housing completions in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,391,000.  This is 5.6 percent (±16.4 percent)* above the revised June estimate of 1,317,000 and is 3.8 percent (±14.4 percent)* above the July 2020 rate of 1,340,000.  

Single‐family housing completions in July were at a rate of 954,000; this is 3.6 percent (±16.1 percent)* above the revised June rate of 921,000. The July rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 426,000.

SPONSORED ADS