by Calculated Risk on 7/17/2015 08:39:00 AM

From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions

Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,174,000. This is 9.8 percent above the revised May estimate of 1,069,000 and is 26.6 percent above the June 2014 rate of 927,000.

Single-family housing starts in June were at a rate of 685,000; this is 0.9 percent below the revised May figure of 691,000. The June rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 476,000.

Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,343,000. This is 7.4 percent above the revised May rate of 1,250,000 and is 30.0 percent above the June 2014 estimate of 1,033,000.

Single-family authorizations in June were at a rate of 687,000; this is 0.9 percent above the revised May figure of 681,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 621,000 in June.
emphasis added

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 June.  Multi-family starts are up sharply year-over-year.

Single-family starts (blue)  decreased in June (because May was revised up) and are up about 14.7% year-over-year.

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

 The second graph shows the huge collapse following the housing bubble, and then - after moving sideways for a couple of years - housing is now recovering (but still historically low),

This was above expectations of 1.125 million starts in June.  And, with the upward revisions to prior months, and another surge in permits, this was another solid report. I'll have more later ...