Led by a strong jump in single-family production, nationwide housing starts inched up 0.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.206 million units in July, according to recently released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department. This is the highest level since October 2007. Single-family starts rose 12.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 782,000 units after an upwardly revised June reading, while multi-family production fell 17% to 424,000 units. 

“Our builders are reporting more confidence in the market, and are stepping up production of single-family homes as a result,” said Tom Woods, NAHB chairman. “However, builders are still reporting problems accessing land and labor.”

“This month’s drop in the more volatile multi-family side is a return to trend after an unusually high June,” said David Crowe, NAHB chief economist. “While multi-family production has fully recovered from the downturn, single-family starts are improving at a slow and sometimes intermittent rate as consumer confidence gradually rebounds. Continued job and economic growth will keep single-family housing moving forward.”

Regionally in July, combined single- and multi-family starts rose by 20.1% in the Midwest and 7.7% in the South. The Northeast and West posted respective losses of 27.5% and 3.1%. After several months of permit gains, overall permits fell 16.3% in July. Single-family permits dipped 1.9% to a rate of 679,000, while multi-family permits dropped 31.8% to 440,000. All four regions posted permit losses in June. The Northeast, Midwest, South and West posted respective drops of 60.2%, 4.6%, 1.7% and 9.9%.

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