By NAHB
Elevated interest rates for home mortgages and construction and development loans kept single-family production and demand in check during June.
Overall housing starts increased 3.0% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.35 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
The June reading of 1.35 million starts is the number of housing units builders would begin if development kept this pace for the next 12 months. Within this overall number, single-family starts decreased 2.2% from an upwardly revised May figure to a 980,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate. However, on a year-to-date basis, single-family starts are up 16.1%. The volatile multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, increased 19.6% to an annualized 373,000 pace.
