The bulk of the gain came from an 8.3 percent rise in multifamily construction starts, especially in the Northeast where construction climbed 15.3 percent. Construction of single-family homes rose only 0.3 percent, as MHProNews understands.
“Continued recovery in housing will be supported by historically low mortgage rates, coupled with a firming labor market that has begun to spur on wage gains for workers,” said Neil Shankar, an economist at TD Bank.
Housing starts outpacing construction may limit future building increases, as housing permits fell 0.1 percent in July to an annual rate of 1.15 million.
Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said, “The gap between the sales and permits numbers is not unprecedented, but it is wide, and we have to expect permits to rebound strongly in the near future.”
Ground-breaking for single-family homes has increased 10.6 percent, while multifamily starts have fallen slightly following a fiery pace recently.
Low mortgage rates and an improving job market have resulted in the sale of new homes at their strongest rate since early in 2008, and existing home sales are marking their best rate since 2007.
Furthermore, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index rose two points to 60, after a downwardly revised reading of 58 last month. Any number over 50 indicates builders anticipate sales conditions as good rather than poor. ##
(Editor’s Note: Contrast the rise in conventional housing sales with the rise in manufactured home sales, see a MH monthly report, suitable for the public, linked here.)
(Photo credit: housingwire-new home construction)
