Housing starts were down nearly six percent, to an annual rate of 1.14 million, in August, according to MarketWatch.
The decline was due in part to the severe weather and flooding in the South. In general, housing data fluctuates on a monthly basis. The findings are a bit of a surprise, as conditions are suitable for new home building. Both borrowing costs and inventory remain low.
Stephen Stanley, chief economist for Amherst Pierpont Securities, wrote, “I suspect that we may see a bounceback in housing starts in September. Broadly, the anecdotal and survey evidence continue to suggest that housing demand is robust, but the official government data for the most part has been softer than I would have expected.”
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