July housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.15 million, a 4.8 percent decrease compared with June’s rate of 1.21 million and 5.6 percent below June 2016’s rate of 1.22 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Single-family starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 856,000, 0.5 percent down from June’s rate of 860,000 but a 10.9 percent increase compared with July 2016’s rate of 772,000. The rate for multifamily buildings was 287,000, a 17.1 percent drop from June’s rate of 346,000 and a 35.2 percent decline from July 2016’s rate of 443,000.
"New-home production numbers this month are in line with our forecast for a slow and steady recovery of the housing market," said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz in a statement. "We saw multifamily production peak in 2015, and this sector should continue to level off as demand remains solid."