**MNI 5 THINGS: US Housing Starts Jump In August To 1.282m>

--5 Things We Learned From August New Residential Construction Data

By Kevin Kastner, Shikha Dave, and Harrison Clarke

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the August 

new residential construction data released Wednesday by the Commerce 

Department: 

     - August housing starts rose by 9.2% to a 1.282 million annual 

rate, well above the 1.240 million pace expected following upward 

revisions to the June and July data. After those revisions, second 

quarter starts averaged 1.228 million, down from 1.261 million in the 

first quarter, due in large part to the recent high of 1.329 million in 

May. 

     - Starts were up 19.1% in the West, the key increase, but were also 

up 9.1% in the Midwest and 6.5% in the South, and held steady in the 

Northest.

     - In contrast to start, building permits posted a 5.7% decrease to 

a 1.229 million rate, well below the 1.320 million rate expected. 

In addition, homes permitted but not started fell by 2.4%, so starts 

could pull back in the coming months. The NAHB index was unchanged at 67 

in August when it was released on Tuesday. 

     - Single-family housing starts increased by 1.9% in August, while 

multi-family starts surged by 29.3%. Single-family building permits fell 

by 6.1%, and multi-family permits fell by 4.9%. 

     - Homes under construction were up 0.8% in August, while 

completions were rose by 2.5% to a 1.213 million pace. These categories 

should move higher in the coming months on the sharp rise in August 

starts, pushing the supply of new homes for sale higher. However, the 

impact of Hurricane Florence, which occurred in September, will be a 

negative for new home building going forward. 

     ** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 ** 

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