by Calculated Risk on 8/19/2014 08:30:00 AM

From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions

Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,093,000. This is 15.7 percent above the revised June estimate of 945,000 and is 21.7 percent above the July 2013 rate of 898,000.

Single-family housing starts in July were at a rate of 656,000; this is 8.3 percent above the revised June figure of 606,000. The July rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 423,000.
emphasis added

Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,052,000. This is 8.1 percent above the revised June rate of 973,000 and is 7.7 percent above the July 2013 estimate of 977,000.

Single-family authorizations in July were at a rate of 640,000; this is 0.9 percent above the revised June figure of 634,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 382,000 in July.

Click on graph for larger image.

The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts for the last several years.

Multi-family starts (red, 2+ units) increased  in July (Multi-family is volatile month-to-month).

Single-family starts (blue) also increased in July.

The second graph shows total and single unit starts since 1968.

 The second graph shows the huge collapse following the housing bubble, and that housing starts have been increasing after moving sideways for about two years and a half years.

This was well above expectations of 963 thousand starts in July.  Note: Starts for June were revised higher too.

This was a solid report with starts up 21.7% year-over-year in July.