US housing starts accelerate in June but building permits slip to 8-month low



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US housing starts accelerate in June but building permits slip to 8-month low

On Tuesday, a US Commerce Department report had unveiled that US housing starts grew more than anticipated in June as May data was revised lower, while building permits pummelled to an eight-month-low, illustrating a sardonic tentativeness among investors on whether to cash in on expensive building materials amid a record-high timber prices alongside a sweeping shortage in labours alongside available lands.

In point of fact, latest US Commerce Department data came forth in context of a severe shortage in supplies of available houses, which in effect had been spurring up prices alongside bidding wards across the United States lately, while several analysts were quoted saying following the data that the latest trend in US housing market would likely to sustain despite a record-low mortgage rate, as demands of more spacious accommodations were still soaring.

Aside from that, a higher homebuilding price would likely weigh on potential buyers, as the prices of steel, concrete and lighting had been increasing exponentially amid a supply restrain, though prices of timber had retreated from a record high.

US Housing starts rise in June; building permits plunge

According to US Commerce Department data, US homebuilding rose 6.3 per cent to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.643 million units in June, while data for May was revised lower to 1.546 million units with housing starts falling in Northeast and Midwestern part of the US last month.

However, housing starts grew by 29.1 per cent in June compared to the same time a year earlier. Alongside this, permits for future housebuilding dropped 5.1 per cent in June to an annualized rate of 1.598 million units, the lowest since October 2020.

Meanwhile, addressing to a number of nefarious challenges that the buyers had to grapple with, an economist at Zillow Matthew Speakman said, “Reports of multi-month delays in the delivery of windows, heating units, refrigerators and other items have popped up across the country, delaying delivery of homes and forcing builders to cap activity, and many builders continue to point to a shortage of available workers as a separate challenge”.