MNI DATA ANALYSIS:US July Housing Starts Rise To 1.168m SAAR>

--July Building Permits Rise 1.5% To 1.311m SAAR

--June Starts Revised Down To 1.158m From Previous 1.173m

By Shikha Dave, Harrison Clarke, and Sara Haire

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The pace of housing starts rose by 0.9% to a 

1.168 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in July, below 

expectations for a 1.270 million rate due to mixed indicators and 

following downward revisions to May and June starts, data reported by 

the Commerce Department Thursday morning showed. 

     Housing starts fell by 4.0% in the Northeast region, while starts 

rose 11.6% in the Midwest, rose 10.4% in the South, and fell 19.6% in 

the West. 

     Housing starts of single-family homes rose by 0.9% in July after a 

9.0% fall in the previous month, while multi-family starts rose 0.7% 

in July, based on an MNI calculation. This followed a 22.3% decline in 

the previous month. 

--SINGLE FAMILY STARTS UP IN JULY 

     Building permits rose by 1.5% in the month to a 1.311 million rate 

after falling to 1.292 million in June. This rise was driven by gains in 

both single and multi-family homes. Homes permitted but not started rose 

6.7% in July with single-family homes up 6.6%. 

     As a result, starts could see gains in the coming months. 

Single-family permits authorized rose by 1.9%, while multi-family 

permits were up 0.7%. Additionally, the NAHB index for August reported 

on Wednesday showed no change in the high builder confidence, remaining 

at 67 for the month. 

     The housing starts average pace for the second quarter was 1.254 

million, down from the 1.317 million first quarter average after all 

revisions were included. The second quarter permits pace, at 1.319 

million, was down from the 1.355 million first quarter average. 

     Homes under construction were up 0.1%, while completions were 

down 1.7%, suggesting declining new home supply in the near term. 

--JOBLESS CLAIMS DOWN

     Also released on Thursday, initial jobless claims declined by 2,000 

to 212,000 in the August 11 week, below the 214,000 level expected. As a 

result, the four-week moving average rose by 1,000 to 215,500, but could 

fall by 1,250 in the August 18 week as the 217,000 level in the July 21 

week rolls out of the equation. 

     Continuing claims fell 39,000 to 1.721 million in the August 4 

week, while the four-week moving average for continuing claims fell by 

8,000 to 1.7385 million. 

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

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