Total housing starts might have declined 0.8% month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.420 million (consensus 1.407 million), but that was due to a decline in multi-unit starts. Single-unit starts were up 2.7% month-over-month to 861,000.
Building permits, meanwhile, declined 8.8% month-over-month, driven by a 24.3% decline in permits for 5 units or more, whereas single-family permits increased 4.1% month-over-month to 818,000.
The key takeaway from the report is the growth seen in single-family starts and single-family permits — a leading indicator — which is needed given the limited supply of existing homes for sale.