U.S. Census Bureau: Monthly New Residential Construction, August 2023

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for August 2023:

Building Permits

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,543,000. This is 6.9 percent above the revised July rate of 1,443,000, but is 2.7 percent below the August 2022 rate of 1,586,000. Single-family authorizations in August were at a rate of 949,000; this is 2.0 percent above the revised July figure of 930,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 535,000 in August.

Housing Starts

Privately-owned housing starts in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,283,000. This is 11.3 percent (±8.3 percent) below the revised July estimate of 1,447,000 and is 14.8 percent (±9.0 percent) below the August 2022 rate of 1,505,000. Single-family housing starts in August were at a rate of 941,000; this is 4.3 percent (±8.8 percent)* below the revised July figure of 983,000. The August rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 334,000.

Housing Completions

Privately-owned housing completions in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,406,000. This is 5.3 percent (±15.1 percent)* above the revised July estimate of 1,335,000 and is 3.8 percent (±13.2 percent)* above the August 2022 rate of 1,355,000. Single-family housing completions in August were at a rate of 961,000; this is 6.6 percent (±11.1 percent)* below the revised July rate of 1,029,000. The August rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 433,000.

The September report is scheduled for release on October 18, 2023.  View the full schedule in the Economic Briefing Room: < www.census.gov/economic-indicators/ >.  The full text and tables for this release can be found at < www.census.gov/construction/nrc/ >.

The original report can be found here.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau