The US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced new residential construction statistics for July 2013.
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 943,000. This is 2.7 percent above the revised June rate of 918,000 and is 12.4 percent above the July 2012 estimate of 839,000. Single-family authorizations in July were at a rate of 613,000; this is 1.9 percent below the revised June figure of 625,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 303,000 in July.
Privately-owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 896,000. This is 5.9 percent above the revised June estimate of 846,000 and is 20.9 percent above the July 2012 rate of 741,000. Single-family housing starts in July were at a rate of 591,000; this is 2.2 percent below the revised June figure of 604,000. The July rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 290,000.
Privately-owned housing completions in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 774,000. This is 1.8 percent above the revised June estimate of 760,000 and is 15 percent above the July 2012 rate of 673,000. Single-family housing completions in July were at a rate of 571,000; this is 5.9 percent above the revised June rate of 539,000. The July rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 195,000.