Housing starts dipped in August, due primarily to the impact of Hurricane Harvey, which struck the greater Houston, Texas, area for several days starting on Aug. 25.
Housing starts nationwide were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.180 million, a decrease of 0.8% compared with a revised 1.190 million in July but an increase of 1.4% compared with 1.164 million in August 2016, according to data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Starts of single-family homes were at a rate of about 851,000, an increase of 1.6% compared with a revised 838,000 in July and an increase of 17.1% compared with August 2016.
Starts of multi-family homes were at a rate of about 323,000, a decrease of 5.8% compared with about 343,000 in July and a decrease of 23.1% compared with a year earlier.
Building permits were at an annual rate of about 1.3 million, an increase of 5.7% compared with about 1.23 million in July and an increase of 8.3% compared with about 1.2 million in August 2016.
Permits for single family homes were at a rate of about 800,000, as decrease of 1.5% compared with about 812,000 in July but an increase of 7.7% compared with August 2016.
Permits for multifamily homes were at a rate of about 464,000 in August, an increase of 22.8% compared with July and an increase of 10.2% compared with August 2016.
Some analysts are forecasting that September’s housing starts rate will be even lower due to the impact of Hurricane Irma in Florida.
“Note that starts will probably be depressed over the near term as construction workers in these already tight markets get drawn into rebuilding projects versus new home construction,” writes Brent Nyitray, CFA, director of capital markets for iServe Residential Lending, in his Morning Report.