Permits to build privately-owned housing units in August rose 3.2 percent above July’s estimates and 7.8 percent above last year, according to new residential construction statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Single-family building permits rose 2.5 percent above the month before. Despite the rise in permits for future construction, housing starts fell in August, down 5.0 percent from July’s revised pace. The decline was due, in large part, to a 13.5 percent drop in multifamily housing. Single-family home construction was down just 1.4 percent from July. More here and here.
