US housing starts rebound on multifamily construction
The rebound underscores the volatile nature of monthly housing numbers
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[WASHINGTON] Housing starts in the US surged in June after a sharp drop a month earlier, driven by a rebound in apartment construction.
New residential construction increased 19 per cent last month to an annualised rate of 1.43 million, the highest since March, government data released on Friday (Jul 17) showed. That topped all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
Builders increased multifamily starts by more than 76 per cent to an annual rate of 532,000, following a nearly 40 per cent plunge month earlier. Single-family starts, meanwhile, declined 0.2 per cent, slipping again after a generally slow spring season for builders.
The rebound in multifamily construction underscores the volatile nature of monthly housing numbers, especially among apartments. Still, high prices and mortgage rates – factors that have been weighing on demand for single-family homes – could also be supporting apartment demand.
Single-family homebuilders, meanwhile have generally been confronting elevated inventory and weak demand. That’s forced many to use to sales incentives to attract buyers. BLOOMBERG
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