Housing starts declined 7.0% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.53 million units, the U.S. Census Bureau reported.
Single family housing starts declined 4.5% to 1.11 million, and the multifamily sector fell 13.1% to 423,000.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said the decline was due to high building material prices, production bottlenecks and labor shortages.
"The decline in single-family permits indicates that builders are slowing construction activity as costs rise," stated NAHB spokesperson Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington. "Starts began the year on a strong footing, but in recent months some projects have been forced to pause due to both the availability and costs of materials."
All regions increased by double-digits compared with last year. Overall building permits increased 2.6% month-over-month and 6.0% compared with July 2020.
Housing completions increased 5.6% from June and grew 3.8% year-over-year.
The full report can be found here.
