SummaryAnother ‘Disappointing’ Housing Number Housing starts fell 7% in July to a 1.534 million-unit pace. Data from prior months were revised modestly higher, which makes the decline less worrisome. Moreover, building permits rose 2.6% and are once again comfortably back above starts. Home builders are still dealing with massive supply shortages and are having to manage the flow of their projects to a much greater degree than ever before. Even with these challenges, the industry is on a pace to begin construction on close to 1.6 million homes this year, which would be the best year for housing starts since 2006. Prospective buyer traffic has also slowed. One of the reasons buyer traffic is off is because builders have relatively few homes to show prospective buyers. Affordability is also a hurdle for many potential buyers, and the reopening of the economy, particularly the return to work and return to school, are competing for prospective buyers’ time right now. READ FULL ARTICLE>>
