Home construction in the United States falls 9.6% in July and reaches 2021 levels

Aug. 16 () –

The number of new homes started in the United States during the month of July reached the annualized figure of 1,446 million, which represents a decline of 9.6% compared to the figure for June and 8.1% compared to the same month 2021, according to the United States Department of Commerce.

The data on housing starts in July represents the lowest figure since February 2021 and adds new concerns about the situation of the US real estate sector after the change of course by the US Federal Reserve, which since March has undertaken aggressive increases of interest rates to tame high inflation.

In the case of single-family homes, the total number of houses whose construction began last July fell to 916,000 units, 10.1% less than the previous month.

The Commerce Department report also indicates that the number of permits for the construction of new homes in July stood at 1,674 million in annualized figures, 1.3% less than in June, although 1.1% more than a year before.

Of these construction authorizations, a total of 928,000 permits corresponded to single-family homes, 4.3% less than in June.

On the other hand, total homes completed in July increased by 1.1% monthly and 3.5% annually, to 1.424 million houses.