The seasonally adjusted rate of new building permits rose to 943,000, which is 2.7% above the upwardly revised June rate of 911,000 and 12.4% higher than the July 2012 rate of 839,000. The consensus estimate called for 935,000 new permits.
Single-family housing starts fell slightly to an annualized rate of 591,000 in June, down 0.8% from the downwardly revised May rate of 596,000.
Permits for new single-family homes fell 2.2% in July, to an adjusted annual rate of 591,000, from a downwardly revised total of 604,000 in June.
The increase in new housing starts also got a boost from a sharp rise in buildings with five or more units. In June, multiple unit construction fell to 231,000 starts from 311,000 in May. The July count is up 25.5% to 290,000. Multiple unit construction is notoriously volatile and July is no exception.
The National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) on Thursday reported a three-point rise in builder confidence in August to 59, the highest reading for the index since January 2006.
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