Single-family housing starts rose 5.3 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.46 million units. Multifamily housing decreased by 2.6 percent.

"Housing continues to do the heavy lifting in an otherwise sluggish economy," stated Kent Conine, president of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). "Demand is strong and inventory of new homes for sale is at an all time low, only 3.5 months. With building permits up, the outlook for housing for the remainder of the year remains bright."

Regionally, the Northeast posted a 9.9 percent increase in overall housing production and the West and South registered 8.0 percent and 2.3 percent increases, respectively. The Midwest posted a small decline of 0.08 percent.

Building permits rose 0.8 percent nationally to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.81 million units in June. Single-family permits registered a 5.3 percent increase for the month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.42 million units.

Publication date: 07/21/2003