Housing starts in July fell 9.6% from June to an adjusted annual rate of 1.44 million, the U.S. Census Bureau announced.
Compared with July 2021, housing starts declined 8.1%, a further indication that the “housing slowdown is showing no signs of abating,” according to the National Association of Home Builders.
Regionally, housing starts plunged 33.8% in the Midwest, 18.7% in the South and 2.7% in the West. Housing starts surged 65.5% in the Northeast month-over-month.
“A housing recession is underway with builder sentiment falling for eight consecutive months while the pace of single-family home building has declined for the last five months,” NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz said in a statement.
Building permits declined 1.3% from June but increased 1.1% compared with July 2021. Housing completions increased 1.1% from June and 3.5% compared with July 2021.
The full Census Bureau report can be found here.
