by The number of housing completions rose, with the South ranking as the strongest region of the country
WASHINGTON — Privately owned housing starts and permits were down in June compared to a year ago and also were down from May as the market for new buyers remains soft in different areas of the country.
Housing completions, however, were up from June of last year, but down slightly from their May levels, according to data the government released Wednesday.
Housing starts in June totaled 1,434,000, 8.1% below the June 2022 rate of 1,561,000, and 8% below a revised May estimate of 1,559,000. Single-family housing starts in June totaled 935,000, which was 7% below the May figure of 1,005,000.
The number of building permits issued totaled 1,440,000, 15.3% below the rate of 1,701,000 in June 2022, and 3.7% below a revised May rate of 1,496,000. The number of single-family permits totaled 922,000, 2.2% above the revised figure of 902,000 for May.
Meanwhile, housing completions totaled 1,468,000 in June, which was 5.5% above the 1,392,000 reported in June 2022, but down 3.3% from the revised May estimate of 1,518,000. Single-family homes completed in June totaled 986,000, compared to 1,014,000 in May, a 2.8% decrease.
By region the activity was as follows:
In the Northeast, housing starts totaled 95,000, 25.2% below the June 2022 rate of 127,000, and down 2.1% from the 97,000 reported in May. The number of building permits issued totaled 105,000 in June, down 30% from the 150,000 reported in June 2022, and down 24.4% from the 137,000 reported in May. There were 130,000 units completed in June, up 31.3% from the 99,000 completed in June 2022, and up 13% from the 115,000 completed in May.
In the Midwest, housing starts totaled 162,000 in June, down 21% from the 205,000 reported in June 2022, and down 33.1% from the 242,000 reported in May. The number of building permits issued totaled 198,000, down 2% from the 202,000 reported in June 2022, but up 5.9% from the 187,000 reported in May. There were 196,000 units completed in June, up .5% from the 195,000 completed in June 2022, but down 4.4% from the 205,000 completed in May.
In the South, housing starts totaled 838,000 in June, down 3.2% from the 866,000 reported in June 2022, and down 4.4% from the 877,000 reported in May. There were 801,000 building permits issued in the region in June, down 13.8% from the 420,000 reported in June 2022, and down 2.6% from the 822,000 reported in May. There were 826,000 units completed in June, up 6.3% from the 777,000 completed in June 2022, but down 4.3% from the 863,000 completed in May.
In the West, there were 339,000 units started in June, down 6.6% from the 363,000 started in June 2022, and down 1.2% from the 343,000 units started in May. A total of 336,000 permits were issued in June, compared to 420,000 in June 2022, a 20% decrease. The figure also was down 4% from the 350,000 permits issued in May. There were 316,000 units completed in June, compared to 321,000 completed in June 2022, a 1.6% decrease. The number of units completed in June also was down 5.7% from the May figure of 335,000.
