Housing Rebound Pauses as U.S. One-Family Starts Drop
By Victoria Stilwell and Lorraine Woellert - Aug 16, 2013
Builders started work on fewer single-family homes in July, marking a pause in the residential construction rebound that’s helping to propel the U.S. economy.
Work began on 2.2 percent fewer individual homes last month, taking them to a 591,000 annualized rate, the least since November, Commerce Department data showed today in Washington. Total housing starts climbed to an 896,000 pace, propelled by a rebound in the multifamily category, which can be volatile.
The slowdown contrasts with a surge in builder confidence, indicating firms may be limiting supply amid a shortage of lots and materials as they try to boost prices and revenue. Another report today showing consumer sentiment slumped this month signals rising interest rates may be shaking American households, making a pickup in hiring even more crucial in boosting the outlook for spending.
“Things are still far better than they were a year ago, but it feels like progress has stalled out for a little while,” said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities LLC in Stamford Connecticut, who projected starts would rise to a 900,000 pace. Builders will eventually “expand operations, they’ll hire workers and get more aggressive. At the moment they’re happy to keep the market tightly supplied because that allows them to raise prices.”
Building permits for single-family projects climbed to a 613,000 pace in July, the report also showed, exceeding the number of starts and signaling a possible pickup in construction in coming months.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-16/housing-starts-in-u-s-rise-on-rebound-in-multifamily-properties.html
