The number of privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits dropped 6.1 percent from May to June and fell 6.6 percent year-over-year, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, released Wednesday.
Despite both the monthly and annual decline numbers coming in at above 6 percent, single-family authorizations were only down 0.4 percent month-over-month, meaning most of the issues were in the multifamily sector.
“Restrictive and costly regulations, rising construction costs and an ongoing labor shortage in the construction industry continue to put pressure on builders,” Odeta Kushi, the deputy chief economist at First American, said in a statement. “If these supply headwinds persist, buyers looking for homes may be facing a tighter market in the second half of the year.”
Permits, a leading indicator of future housing starts, fell nearly 7% YoY. But one month does not make a trend- permits have been steadily increasing since Feb & increasing builder confidence in July suggests they may pick back up. #RealEstate #HousingStarts
— Odeta Kushi (@odetakushi) July 17, 2019
Privately-owned housing starts are down 0.9 percent month-over-month and up 6.2 percent year-over-year. Single-family housing starts are up 3.5 percent month-over-month.
Privately-owned housing completions also saw declines, falling 4.8 percent month-over-month and 3.7 percent year-over-year. Single-family housing completions dropped 1.8 percent month-over-month.
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