Housing starts in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,364,000, a 12.3% increase from the revised July estimate of 1,215,000 and 6.6% above the August 2018 rate of 1,279,000, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Single‐family housing starts in August were at a rate of 919,000, 4.4% above the revised July figure of 880,000. The August rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 424,000.
Building permits in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,419,000, 7.7 ahead of the revised July rate of 1,317,000 and 12.0% above the August 2018 rate of 1,267,000. Single‐family authorizations in August were at a rate of 866,000, 4.5% above the revised July figure of 829,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 509,000 in August.
Housing completions in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,294,000, 2.4% above the revised July estimate of 1,264,000 and 5.0% above the August 2018 rate of 1,232,000. Single‐family housing completions in August were at a rate of 945,000, a gain of 3.7% above the revised July rate of 911,000. The August rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 338,000.
