Privately owned housing starts jumped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.28 million in August, climbing 9.2 percent above the July estimate of 1.17 million.
The rate is a 9.4 percent increase compared with the August 2017 rate.
Housing starts in the West surged 19.1 percent in August, and grew 9.1 percent and 6.5 percent in the Midwest and South, respectively. Housing starts in the Northeast remained unchanged from July.
The number of building permits issued in August fell 5.7 percent compared with July to an annual rate of 1.22 million, and were 5.5 percent below August 2017 rates.
Privately owned housing completions grew 2.5 percent from July to a rate of 1.21 million, and remain 11.2 percent above August 2017 rates.
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