**MNI 5 THINGS: US Housing Starts Rise In July To 1.168m>

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

By Shikha Dave, Harrison Clarke, and Sara Haire

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

new residential construction data released Thursday by the Commerce 

Department: 

     - July housing starts rose by 0.9% to a 1.168 million annual rate, 

below the 1.270 million pace, indicating a mixed report. This followed 

downward revisions to the May and June data. Due to the revisions, 

second quarter starts averaged 1.254 million, down from 1.317 million in 

the first quarter, and from the previous 1.262 million reported for 

second quarter. This indicates a soft start for third quarter 

residential construction. 

     - Starts were down 19.6% in the West and 4.0% in the Northeast, but 

up 11.6% in the Midwest and 10.4% in the South. 

     - Permits posted a 1.5% increase to a 1.311 million rate, slightly 

below the 1.313 million rate expected. Homes permitted but not started 

rose by 6.7%. The recent levels of permits suggest that this category, 

as well as starts eventually, could continue to rise in the coming 

months. The NAHB index was 67 in August when it was released on 

Wednesday. 

     - Single-family housing starts increased 0.9% in July, while 

multi-family starts rose by 0.7%. Single-family building permits rose 

1.9%, and multi-family permits rose 0.7%. 

     - Homes under construction were up 0.1% in July, while completions 

were down 1.7% at 1.188 million. These categories should move higher in 

the coming months as the pace of starts and permits continues to rise. 

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

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