The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) tells MHProNews while housing starts fell 1.1 percent in July to a seasonally annual adjusted rate (SAAR) of 746,000 units, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau, new building permits permits rose 6.8 percent in July to a SAAR of 812,000 units, the best pace in four years. Following four months of gain, single-family housing starts dropped 6.5 percent, while multi-family starts spiked 12.4 percent, their best rate since Feb. 2012. Single-family building permits increased 4.5 percent to their best rate since March 2010, while multi-family permits jumped 11.2 percent. Regionally, for July housing starts rose in the Midwest 17 percent in July, but fell 1.3 percent in the Northeast, 3.5 percent in the South, and 5.3 percent out West. New housing permits rose 12.2 percent in the Northeast, registered a 5.8 percent gain in the South, and a 14 percent rise in the West. The Midwest saw a decline in permits of 4.2 percent.
