Housing Starts Down but Permits Rise

Washington, DC, Aug. 16, 2012 -- Housing starts fell 1.1% in July to an annualized rate of 746,000 units, the Commerce Department said.

Starts had jumped a revised 6.8% in June to a 754,000 rate, the highest since October 2008.

However, building permits increased 6.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 812,000 in July. This is the highest level since August 2008.

Economists had been for starts forecast to rise to a 765,000 rate.

Generally, a building permit results in a new housing start roughly within one month.

Building permits for single-family homes rose 4.5% to a 513,000 rate in July.

The decline in starts for July was due to fewer starts of new single-family homes.

New single-family starts fell by 6.5% to a 502,000 rate in July. This follows a 4.7% increase to a 537,000 rate in June.

However, starts of large apartment units rose 12.4% to a 244,000 rate in July.