National Overview of Building....

U.S. HOUSING STARTS DECLINE 13.3 PERCENT IN JULY

The seasonally adjusted annual rate for privately owned housing starts dropped for the fourth consecutive month in July, falling to a rate of 1.8 million units, according to a report released today by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce.

The July construction pace was down 2.5 percent from June and down 13.3 percent from a year ago. Single-family housing starts decreased 16.6 percent from July 2005, to a rate of 1.45 million units, while starts for buildings with five or more units decreased 10.2 percent to a rate of 264,000.

The number of building permits issued, which can be an indicator of future building activity, declined 20.8 percent from one year earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.75 million permits.

The construction pace for housing units decreased across the nation in June. The rate for privately owned housing starts declined 18.9 percent in the Northeast, 16.6 percent in the Midwest, 13.9 percent in the West, and 10.7 percent in the South.

**Taken from the California Association of Realtors Bulletin, dated August 17th, 2006.