Housing Starts Up

This article first appeared in the PB October 1999 issue of Pro Builder.

(Thousands of Units, Seasonally-Adjusted Annual Rate) Following a sharp drop in June, total housing starts rose sharply in July. At a seasonally-adjusted annualized rate of 1.661 million units, July starts were 5.7% above this June’s level.

Thousands of Units, Seasonally-Adjusted Annual Rate
	Single-Family	Multi-Family
Q1/98	1242	340
Q2	1243	326
Q3	1274	363
Q4	1352	349
Q1/99	1389	384
Q2	1307	298
Q3	1295	315
Q4	1265	305
Q1/00	1225	290
Q2	1185	285
Q3	1200	300
Q4	1225	310
Historical Data: U.S. Department of Commerce Forecast: Professional Builder

Single-family starts were up 4.4% over the month, with July 1999 activity 1.7% better than in July 1998. Multi-family starts rose 11.4% from the very low levels of the previous several months, but were 19.4% lower this July than last July.

Through the first seven months of 1999, total starts nationwide had risen by a healthy 5.2%. With a total of almost 793,000 units, single-family starts through July of this year were running 7.3% ahead of the 1998 pace. Multi-family starts in buildings with 2-4 units so far this year have come up 32.2% short of the January-July 1998 total, but starts in buildings with 5 or more units have increased at a 1.8% annualized pace.

Also See:

Consumer Confidence Down, Better Than Last Year

Double-digit Earnings Growth Belies Investors

Building Permits Up Slightly Since June

Permits Remain Strong

PB Topical Ref

Economics

Market Data + Trends

features