Housing Starts Drop 2% in June As Single-Family Starts Hit Two-Year Low

Housing starts declined 2.0% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.5 million, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. The rate is down 6.3% compared with June 2021.

Single-family housing starts alone fell 8.0% from May to a rate of 982,000, the lowest rate in two years, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

“Single-family starts are retreating on higher construction costs and interest rates, and this decline is reflected in our latest builder surveys, which show a steep drop in builder sentiment for the single-family market,” NAHB Chairman Jerry Konter said in a statement. “Builders are reporting weakening traffic as housing affordability declines.”

Regionally, compared with May, housing starts declined 7.7% in the Midwest and 4.8% in the West. In the Northeast and West, housing starts increased 10.6% and 3.7%, respectively. 

Building permits slowed 0.6% from May but were up 1.4% compared with June 2021. Housing completions dropped 4.6% from May but increased 4.6% compared with June 2021.

The full report can be found here.