Housing Starts down, Price of Renting, Manufacturing Index

September 17, 2015

Thursday – September 17

The Commerce Department reported on Thursday that Housing Starts fell 3% in August from July to an annual pace of 1.126 million units, below the 1.158 million expected. Within the report it showed that multifamily units fell 3% in August after the 23% decline in July. This comes after multifamily starts were up nearly 40% in June and April. Housing Starts are up 7.5% since August 2014 and remain above a one-million pace for the fifth straight month, signaling that the sector has recovered a big portion of the losses sustained when the housing bubble imploded back in 2008. In addition, Building Permits, a sign of future construction, rose 3.5% to an annual rate of 1.170 million units, above the 1.158 million expected.

The price of renting in the U.S. rose in August for the 58th straight month and are up 3.6% so far this year. Rent prices have been on the rise due to a smaller amount of units available along with an increase in demand. The average rental is lowest in Arkansas at $760, to a high of $2,640 in New York. Just recently, the Census Department reported that home ownership rates fell to 63.4%, a 48-year low.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve released its monthly manufacturing index showing negative readings on its top line index. The Philly Fed Index fell to negative 6.0 in September after a positive 8.3 reading in August and well below the +6.5 expected. It was the first negative reading since February 2014. Within the report it did show that the employment component rose 5 points to its highest level in five months while new orders showed growth.