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U.S. housing starts hit nine-month low; permits fall
First, it's a tiny little snowball. Then, it's a bunch of little snowballs. Then...Source: Reuters, by Lucia Mutikani
U.S. homebuilding fell to a nine-month low in June and permits declined for a third straight month, dealing a blow to the housing market as it struggles with a dearth of properties available for sale.
Higher lumber prices and shortages of land and labor are constraining homebuilding. The housing market is lagging overall economic growth, which appears to have accelerated in the second quarter after hitting a soft patch at the start of the year.
Higher lumber prices and shortages of land and labor are constraining homebuilding. The housing market is lagging overall economic growth, which appears to have accelerated in the second quarter after hitting a soft patch at the start of the year.
Housing starts tumbled 12.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.173 million units last month, the lowest level since September 2017, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. The percent drop was the biggest since November 2016 and both single and multi-family home construction declined in June.
Residential investment contracted in the first quarter. June’s sharp drop in homebuilding could impact on economists’ forecasts for second-quarter growth, which are as high as a 5.3 percent annualized rate. The economy grew at a 2.0 percent pace in the first quarter.
Read it all at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy/u-s-housing-starts-hit-nine-month-low-permits-fall-idUSKBN1K81L4
Sitting in the dark.
