U.S. housing starts increased in June by more than forecast, suggesting residential construction is stabilizing despite lingering supply-chain constraints and labor shortages.
Initial home construction rose 6.3% last month to a 1.64 million annualized rate, a three-month high, according to government data released Tuesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey called for a 1.59 million pace.
Both 1 unit and multifamily (5+ unit) starts for June increased over 6% from May.
So, 1-unit housing starts are back to 2000-2003 levels prior to the housing bubble.
You can see the housing bubble of post-2001 recession in terms of single-family home construction, the peak in January 2006 then the demise of SF housing starts until 2009, then the upswing in starts following The Great Recession. Housing starts have increased following the ultra-short Covid recession of 2020.
Existing home sales inventory remains low (orange box) despite rising new home sales.
Once again, why all the monetary stimulus since the Covid recession ended in April 2020?
