The number of residential construction projects under way across the country surged in July, snapping a two-month decline.
Housing starts increased 5.7 percent to an annualized rate of 1.09 million, the strongest reading since November and well above estimates, Bloomberg News reported. The median projection ahead of the Commerce Department report was 965,000 starts, according to a survey of 75 economists conducted by the news agency.
The Commerce Department reported that single-family starts rose 8.3 percent to 650,000 units, the fastest pace of growth this year by Bloomberg’s measure. Multi-family starts jumped 28.9 percent to an annualized rate of 437,000, a more than eight-year high, according to the news agency.
The number of permits filed for future residential construction increased 8.1 percent to an annual rate of 1.05 million homes. [Bloomberg News] – Tom DiChristopher