U.S. housing starts rebound in August

Housing starts in the U.S. recovered in August. Starts rose 12.3 percent, following three consecutive months of falls. Markets had expected a smaller rise of 5 percent. Housing starts came in at 1.36 million units in the month.  August’s recovery was concentrated in multifamily units, rising 32.8 percent. Single family starts also came in higher for the third straight month, rising 4.4 percent.

Meanwhile, permits rose for both singly and multifamily units in August by 4.5 percent and 13.3 percent, respectively. Region wise, most of the country recorded double-digit gains in housing starts in August, including the Northeast, Midwest and South. Overall starts came in flat in the West, whereas starts of single family homes rose 5.3 percent in the region.

Looking at the six-month trend, multifamily construction has recovered sharply since its softness over the winter. While single family home construction is showing nascent signs of an upturn after slowing down in the latter half of 2018. A sound gain in permits for both segments imply the upturn will continue in the near term, said TD Economics in a research report.

“New home construction has long been an area of disappointment in the domestic economy, but today's data provides some hope that things may be looking up for the sector”, added TD Economics.