U.S. August Housing Starts and Permits - Hints of improvement
August housing starts and permits are stronger than expected, starts up 9.6% to 1356k and permits up 4.9% to 1475k. The gains more than fully reverse respective July declines of 6.9% and 3.3% and hint that expectations for Fed easing may be starting to provide some support.
Single starts rose by 15.8% after a 12.8% July decline but multiples fell by 4.2% after a 9.8% July increase. Permits saw singles up by 2.8% after a 0.2% July increase and multiples up by 9.2% after a 9.7% July decline.
Multiples data is volatile as can be single starts, which are more weather-sensitive than permits. A second straight gain in single permits after five straight declines does hint that trend is starting to improve.
Housing sector data has been mostly subdued in recent months though July new home sales showed surprising strength. September data from the NAHB homebuilders’ survey however edged off an August low and the latest weekly data from the MBA house purchase index is hinting at some improvement too.
.