Housing Starts Increase 1.7 Percent in July

Privately-owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 546,000. This is 1.7 percent above the revised June estimate of 537,000, but is seven percent below the July 2009 rate of 587,000. Single-family housing starts in July were at a rate of 432,000, 4.2 percent below the revised June figure of 451,000. The July rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 95,000. Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 565,000. This is 3.1 percent below the revised June rate of 583,000 and is 3.7 percent below the July 2009 estimate of 587,000. Single-family authorizations in July were at a rate of 416,000, 1.2 percent below the revised June figure of 421,000.

New Privately Owned Housing Units Started

(Thousands of units, seasonally adjusted annual rate)

Period Total 1 Unit 5 Units or more Northeast Midwest South West July 2010 546 432 95 77 93 267 109 June 2010¹ 537 451 81 59 84 285 109 May 2010² 588 459 117 72 109 291 116 April 2010² 679 563 104 84 118 367 110 March 2010 634 535 91 66 93 339 136 July 2009 587 500 72 61 110 290 126

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

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census