US housing starts and building permits data for July is scheduled to release today. The housing starts and building permits registered 9.8% and 7.0% growth in last month respectively. The offsetting movements in single-family and multifamily construction activity probably left the number of new housing units started little changed at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.175 million in July, following the apartment building-led 9.8% surge recorded in June, says Societe Generale.
Reflecting improving demand for new dwellings, the number of one-family homes started is expected to rebound by 5.8% to a three-month high of 725,000, adds SocGen. In contrast, multifamily units started likely contracted by 8.0% to 450,000, yet remained a touch above the 441,000 Q2 average. An almost-complete reversal of the surge in building permits over the May-June span associated with expiring tax breaks in New York City probably left new approvals in July 14.4% lower at 1.145 million.
