U.S. housing starts rise, building permits fall to eight-month low

By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. homebuilding increased more than expected in June, but permits for future home construction fell to an eight-month low, likely reflecting uncertainty caused by expensive building materials as well as shortages of labor and land.

The report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday suggested that a severe shortage of houses, which has boosted prices and sparked bidding wars across the country, could persist for a while. Demand for houses is being driven by low mortgage rates and a desire for more spacious accommodations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Though lumber prices are coming down from record highs, builders are paying more for steel, concrete and lighting, and are grappling with shortages of appliances like refrigerators.

“Reports of multi-month delays in the delivery of windows, heating units, refrigerators and other items have popped up across the country, delaying delivery of homes and forcing builders to cap activity, and many builders continue to point to a shortage of available workers as a separate challenge,” said Matthew Speakman, an economist at Zillow.

Housing starts rose 6.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.643 million units last month. Data for May was revised down to a rate of 1.546 million units from the previously reported 1.572 million units. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast starts would rise to a rate of 1.590 million units.

Despite last month’s increase, starts remained below March’s rate of 1.737 million units, which was the highest level since July 2006. Homebuilding increased in the West and the populous South, but fell in the Northeast and Midwest.

Single-family starts rose 6.3% to a rate of 1.160 million units. The volatile multi-family homebuilding category advanced 6.2% to a pace of 483,000 units.

Starts increased 29.1% on a year-on-year basis in June.

Permits for future homebuilding fell 5.1% to a rate of 1.598 million units in June, the lowest level since October 2020. Permits are now lagging starts, suggesting that homebuilding will slow in the coming months.

U.S. stocks opened higher after Monday’s sharp selloff. The dollar gained versus a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury yields fell.

BUILDERS CAUTIOUS

While lumber futures have dropped nearly 70% from a record high in early May, softwood lumber prices increased 125.3% on a year-on-year basis in June, according to the latest producer price data.

There are also signs that the exodus to suburbs and other low-density areas in search of larger homes for home offices and schooling is gradually fading as vaccinations allow companies to recall workers back to offices in city centers. Rising COVID-19 infections among unvaccinated Americans also pose a risk to the housing market outlook.

“Builders are more cautious and taking out fewer permits for new construction as the earlier confidence during the economy’s reopening has started to falter,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS in New York.

The supply of previously-owned homes is near record lows, leading to double-digit growth in the median house price.

A survey from the National Association of Home Builders on Monday showed confidence among single-family homebuilders fell to an 11-month low in July. The NAHB noted that “builders continue to grapple with elevated building material prices and supply shortages, particularly the price of oriented strand board, which has skyrocketed more than 500 percent above its January 2020 level.”

Homebuilders and a group of other stakeholders met last Friday with White House officials, including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, to discuss strategies to address the short-term supply chain disruptions in the homebuilding sector.

Building permits fell in all four regions in June. Single-family permits dropped 6.3% to a rate of 1.063 million units. Permits for multifamily housing slipped 2.6% to a rate of 535,000 units.

Housing completions fell 1.4% to a rate of 1.324 million units last month. Single-family home completions declined 6.1% to a rate of 902,000 units, the lowest level since October.

Realtors estimate that single-family housing starts and completion rates need to be in a range of 1.5 million to 1.6 million units per month to close the inventory gap.

The stock of housing under construction rose 1.8% to a rate of 1.359 million units last month.

(Reporting by Lucia MutikaniEditing by Chizu Nomiyama and Paul Simao)

U.S. housing starts near 15-year high; consumer sentiment rises moderately

By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. homebuilding surged to nearly a 15-year high in March, but soaring lumber prices amid supply constraints could limit builders’ capacity to boost production and ease a shortage of homes that is threatening to slow housing market momentum.

The sharp rebound reported by the Commerce Department on Friday added to robust retail sales in March in suggesting that the economy was roaring after a brief weather-related setback in February. Increasing COVID-19 vaccinations, warmer weather and massive fiscal stimulus are driving the economy, with growth this year expected to be the strongest in nearly four decades.

But caution is starting to creep in among consumers as the course of the pandemic remains uncertain and inflation is showing signs of heating up. Other data on Friday showed consumer sentiment rose moderately in early April.

“We’re in a unique situation with the economy beginning to rebound from the worst of the pandemic,” said Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union in Vienna, Virginia. “Uncertainties remain, with many businesses yet to reopen, unemployment still high, and COVID-19 levels lower but persistent.”

Housing starts surged 19.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.739 million units last month, the highest level since June 2006. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast starts would rise to a rate of 1.613 million units in March.

Starts soared 37.0% on a year-on-year basis in March. Homebuilding slumped in February as large parts of the country reeled from unseasonably cold weather, including winter storms in Texas and other parts of the densely-populated South region.

Groundbreaking activity increased in the Northeast, Midwest and South, but fell in the West. Permits for future home building rose 2.7% to a rate of 1.766 million units last month, recouping only a fraction of February’s 8.8% plunge. They jumped 30.2% compared to March 2020.

“While housing demand is expected to remain strong, we expect it to diminish somewhat as the year progresses,” said Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae in Washington. “Homebuilders continue to face supply constraints, including increasing prices of lumber and other materials.”

Stocks on Wall Street were mostly higher, with the S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting fresh record highs. The dollar slipped against a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury prices were lower.

RECORD LUMBER PRICES

The housing market is being fueled by demand for bigger and more expensive accommodations, with millions of Americans continuing to work from home and remote schooling remaining in place as the pandemic enters its second year. Housing supply has been insufficient, with the inventory of previously-owned homes at record lows. This is underpinning homebuilding.

A survey from the National Association of Home Builders on Thursday showed confidence among single-family homebuilders increased in April amid strong buyer traffic. Builders appealed for solutions “to increase the supply of building materials as the economy runs hot in 2021.”

Inflation concerns were on consumers’ minds early this month. A separate report from the University of Michigan on Friday showed its preliminary consumer sentiment index rose to 86.5 from a final reading of 84.9 in March.

Economists had forecast the index would rise to 89.6.

The survey’s one-year inflation expectation jumped to 3.7%, the highest level in nearly a decade, from 3.1% in March. Its five-year inflation outlook was unchanged at 2.7%.

Reports this month showed big increases in both consumer and producer prices in March as strong domestic demand pushed against supply constraints. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and many economists view higher inflation as transitory, with supply chains expected to adapt and become more efficient.

Supply disruptions because of coronavirus-related restrictions are driving up commodity prices. Softwood lumber, which is used for frames and trusses of houses, surged by a record 83.4% on a year-on-year basis in March, according to the latest producer price data published last week. Prices of other building materials such as plywood have also risen sharply.

Port congestion on the West Coast as well as winter weather in Canada that has shut mills and restricted truck shipping were also contributing to the shortages that were driving prices of building materials higher, according to an Institute for Supply Management survey published early this month.

Single-family homebuilding, the largest share of the housing market, surged 15.3% to a rate of 1.238 million units in March. Still, starts remained below last December’s peak, likely constrained by the more expensive building materials.

Single-family building permits rose 4.6% to a rate of 1.199 million units.

“The failure of single-family starts to fully recover to last winter’s peak level despite tight inventories in most metropolitan areas supports the idea builders are holding back,” said Chris Low, chief economist at FHN Financial in New York.

Starts for the volatile multi-family segment soared 30.8% to a pace of 501,000 units. Building permits for multi-family housing projects fell 1.2% to a pace of 567,000 units.

Housing completions accelerated 16.6% to a rate of 1.580 million units last month, the highest since March 2007. Single-family home completions shot up 5.3% to a rate of 1.099 million, the highest since November 2007.

Realtors estimate that single-family housing starts and completion rates need to be in a range of 1.5 million to 1.6 million units per month to close the inventory gap.

The stock of housing under construction rose 0.8% to a rate of 1.306 million units, the highest since September 2006.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)

U.S. housing starts tumble from nine-year high

A carpenter works on a new home at a residential construction site in the west side of the Las Vegas Valley in Las Vegas

By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. homebuilding fell more than expected in November, tumbling from a nine-year high as construction activity declined broadly, which could prompt further downward revisions to fourth-quarter economic growth estimates.

Groundbreaking on new housing projects dropped 18.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.09 million units, the Commerce Department said on Friday. Last month’s percentage decline was the largest in nearly two years.

Housing starts data is very volatile month-to-month.

There were, however, some silver linings in the report. October’s starts were revised up to a 1.34 million-unit rate, the highest since July 2007. In addition, building permits for single-family homes, the largest segment of the market, rose to a nine-year high in November.

Economists had forecast housing starts slipping to a 1.23 million-unit rate last month from October’s previously reported 1.32 million pace. Coming on the heels of data this week showing weak retail sales and industrial production in November, the plunge in groundbreaking activity could result in fourth-quarter gross domestic product forecasts being trimmed again.

The Atlanta Federal Reserve is forecasting GDP rising at a 2.4 percent annualized rate in the fourth quarter after increasing at a brisk 3.2 percent rate in the third quarter.

U.S. Treasury debt prices rose on the data, while the dollar was little changed against a basket of currencies.

Starts fell in all four regions last month. October’s surge in homebuilding had widened the gap between permits and starts. As such, a drop in housing starts was widely anticipated to bring them more in line with permits.

The housing market remains on solid ground even as mortgage rates have jumped to more than two-year highs following the election of Donald Trump as the next president.

A survey on Thursday showed homebuilders’ confidence in December hitting its highest level since July 2005, with builders anticipating strong sales.

Trump’s surprise victory last month led to a surge in U.S. government bond yields amid investor concerns that the business mogul’s proposed expansionary fiscal policy agenda could fan inflation. Mortgage rates closely track movements in U.S. Treasury yields.

Since the Nov. 8 presidential election, the fixed 30-year mortgage rate has increased about 60 basis points to average 4.16 percent in the week ending Dec. 15, the highest since October 2014, according to data from mortgage finance firm Freddie Mac.

Last month, single-family home building, which accounts for the largest share of the residential housing market, fell 4.1 percent to an 828,000-unit pace. Single-family starts rose to a nine-year high in October.

The housing market is being supported by a tightening labor market, which is starting to drive up wages.

Housing starts for the volatile multi-family segment tumbled 45.1 percent to a 262,000-unit pace.

Permits for future construction fell 4.7 percent in November. Single-family permits rose 0.5 percent last month to their highest level since November 2007. Building permits for multi-family units dropped 13.0 percent.

(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)