United States single-family housing construction fell by 7.0% in August to its lowest level in over two years, amid large numbers of unsold homes.
Single-family housing starts came in at 890,000 last month, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development. Building permits dropped by 3.7% to 1,312,000.
Single-family building permits in August “were at a rate of 856,000; this is 2.2% below the revised July figure of 875,000,” the agencies said.
“Authorisations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 403,000 in August.”
Total privately-owned housing starts fell by 8.5% to 1,307,000.
Privately-owned housing completions also declined by 8.4% in August to 1,608,000.
“Housing remains in the doldrums, even as mortgage rates have fallen slightly at the start of September,” said KPMG senior economist Yelena Maleyev.
While the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 0.25% today, “it will not be a silver bullet for the housing market,” said Maleyev.
Unsold housing inventory has also remained high for around 18 months, and is approaching levels last seen in 2007.
Active housing listings were 1,098,681 in August, dropping by around 4,100 from the previous month but up nearly 190,000 year-over-year.
U.S. builder sentiment remained steady at a relatively low reading of 32 in September, per the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.
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