Housing Starts Surge 14.6% in June

The housing market in June enjoyed double-digit increases in housing starts month-to-month and year-to-year, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Privately-owned housing starts in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 629,000,14.6 percent above the revised May estimate of 549,000 and 16.7 percent above the June 2010 rate of 539,000. Single-family housing starts in June were at a rate of 453,000; 9.4 percent above the revised May figure of 414,000. The June rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 170,000, 31.8 percent above May.

Building permits in June were also up, but not as dramatically as housing starts. Building permits in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 624,000, 2.5 percent above the revised May rate of 609,000 and 6.7 percent above the June 2010 estimate of 585,000.

New Privately Owned Housing Units Started

(Thousands of units, seasonally adjusted annual rate)

PeriodTotal1 Unit5 Units or moreNortheastMidwestSouthWestJune 2011₁ 629 453 170 77 124 292 136 May 2011 ₂ 549 414 129 57 99 264 129 April 2011₂ 549 411 124 60 96 274 119 March 2011 593 418 164 61 81 337 114 Feb. 2011 518 388 112 55 63 310 90 Jan. 2011 636 437 187 94 115 306 121 June 2010 539 451 83 60 85 286 108

1-Preliminary; 2-Revised; Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census