Single-family housing starts rose 7 percent in August to a rate of 628,000, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The rate for buildings with five units or more fell 9.2 percent in August following a 25.5 percent jump in July.
Single-family housing completions were at a rate of 573,000 in August, 0.5 percent above July, and multifamily completions rose 1.1 percent to 191,000.
Single-family authorizations rose 3 percent to 627,000, while multifamily authorizations fell 15.7 percent to 268,000 following a 13.5 percent jump in July.
"This is the kind of signal we've been looking for, with single-family starts and permits up or holding steady across every region in the nation," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe in a statement. "Today's report is reflective of gradual improvement in buyer confidence in the overall market and our recent surveys that indicate a solid outlook for single-family production. On the multifamily side, we are catching up with underlying rental demand. We expect to see additional multifamily starts in the future, but not as rapid a pace of growth as we've seen in the past."
