The U.S. Census Bureau reported Friday that privately-owned housing starts surged 19.0% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,427,000, significantly outperforming the 1,310,000 consensus estimate. The sharp headline increase was driven by a 76.3% jump in the volatile multi-family segment to a rate of 513,000 units. Conversely, single-family housing starts edged 0.2% lower to 895,000 units.
Forward-looking building permits fell 3.0% to a rate of 1,367,000, missing expectations of 1,410,000. Single-family authorizations dropped 2.4% as high mortgage rates, which reached an 11-month high of 6.55% this week, continue to weigh on the single-family sector. While the headline starts data provided a boost, the decline in permits and single-family activity highlights ongoing affordability and inventory challenges in the broader housing market.