U.S. Housing Starts Rose in July

By Joshua Kirby

U.S. housing starts rose in July, driven by increased single-family housing construction, while building permits were close to flat. Here are the main takeaways from the Commerce Department's report released Wednesday:

--Housing starts, a measure of U.S. homebuilding, rose 3.9% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.45 million.

--Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected starts to rise by 1.1% on month to 1.45 million. June's housing starts were revised downward to 1.4 million from an initial estimate of 1.43 million.

--July's housing starts came in 5.9% above the same month a year earlier.

--The increase was driven by a 6.7% rise in single-family housing.

--Monthly housing starts data are volatile. July data came with a margin of error of 16 percentage points.

--Residential permits, which can hint at future home construction, rose just 0.1% in July on month, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.44 million. Economists expected permits to rise 2.1% on month.

--Confidence among U.S. house-builders fell back in August after rising in previous months, data from the National Association of Home Builders showed Tuesday.

Write to Joshua Kirby at [e-mail]; @joshualeokirby

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-16-23 0903ET