Single-Family Housing Starts Are Up As Mortgage Rates Decline, Fed Eyes Lower Rates

New construction on single-family homes in the U.S. jumped in August as mortgage rates trend downward and the Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates on Wednesday for the first time in four years.

Single-family housing starts last month came in at an annualized rate of 992,000 units, up 15.8% from a revised figure of 857,000 for July, according to Commerce Department data released on Wednesday.

Starts for all privately-owned housing in August totaled an annualized rate of 1.356 million units, up 9.6% from the July revised estimate of 1.237 million and up 3.9% from the August 2023 rate of 1.305 million.

Single-family housing completions reached an annualized rate of 1.029 million in August, registering a 5.6% decline from July’s revised rate of 1.09 million.

Completions for all privately-owned homes in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.788 million, up 9.2% from the July revised estimate of 1.637 million and 30.2% above the July 2023 rate of 1.373 million.

Read Also: Housing Starts Rebound, Lift Homebuilder Stocks: Sign Of Economic Resilience

Building permits also rose last month, Commerce Department data showed.

Single-family authorizations in August were at a rate of 967,000, up 2.8% from the revised July figure of 941,000.

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,475,000. That’s up 4.9% from the July revised rate of 1.406 million but below the August 2023 rate of 1.578 million.

The average rate for 30-year mortgages fell 14 basis points in the week ended Sept. 13 to 6.15%, marking the lowest rate since September 2022, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Federal Reserve is expected to lower its key interest rate ranging from 5% to 5.25% on Wednesday by either 25 or 50 basis points, signifying its first rate decline in four years.

Price Action: Homebuilders slid into Wednesday’s mid-day trading.

• D.R. Horton, Inc. DHI slipped 0.86% to $193.67
• Pulte Group PHM declined 0.41% to $139.88
• NVR, Inc. NVR went down 0.34% to $9,542.99

Exchange-traded funds that hold homebuilder stocks showed gains and losses.

• IShares U.S. Home Construction ETF ITB declined 0.57%
• Direxion Daily Homebuilders & Supplies Bull 3X Shares NAIL fell 1.8%
• Pacer US Cash Cows Growth ETF BUL gained 0.2%

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