Residential construction slows
The latest housing-starts data from the U.S. Census Bureau generated a flurry of negative numbers in permits, total starts and single-family starts.
The New Residential Construction Report for July shows total housing starts at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,238,000, that's down 6.8 percent for the month, adn down 16.0 percent for the year.
Single-family starts were down to 851,000, the lowest figure since March of 2023.
The regional breakdown included positive numbers in the Northeast, where total starts were up 42.6 percent from June, and up 45.1 percent from July last year.
But the only positive growth numbers for single-family starts occurred in the Midwest, where 1-fam was up 16.8 percent compared to June, and up 8.2 percent compared to one year ago.