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US housing starts fall 12.4 per cent in July while permits rise 5.0 per cent

US housing starts fell 12.4 per cent in July as NAR pending sales dropped 2.3 per cent against forecasts. In Britain, Zoopla says homes sell fastest in Falkirk and slowest in Melton as mortgage costs stay volatile.

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A row of half-built timber-framed houses in morning light; stacked lumber, an idle crane and a muddy site road.

July starts drop 12.4 per cent as permits rise

Privately owned housing starts ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,239,000 in July, which the Census Bureau reports as 12.4 per cent below the revised June rate of 1,415,000 and 13.5 per cent below a year earlier. Single-family starts were 808,000, down 9.9 per cent from the revised June figure of 897,000, and starts in buildings with five units or more stood at 421,000. Completions fell to 1,212,000, which is 9.1 per cent below June and 16.8 per cent below July 2025. Building permits moved the other way, rising 5.0 per cent on the month to 1,443,000. Permits for single-family homes rose 2.5 per cent to 894,000, and permits in buildings with five units or more were at 490,000. The Census Bureau reports the monthly change in starts with a confidence interval of plus or minus 9.5 per cent.[1]

NAR pending sales fall 2.3 per cent against a forecast rise

The pending home sales index compiled by NAR fell 2.3 per cent in July, against economists' expectations of a 0.3 per cent rise, and June's decline was revised to 4.8 per cent from 5.4 per cent. Contract signings fell month on month in every region and were 2.2 per cent lower than a year earlier. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun attributed the pullback to the highest mortgage rates of the year arriving in midsummer, and said record prices are leaving homes on the market longer with fewer buyers bidding above asking. Yun said contract signings are about 30 per cent below their 2019 level while payroll employment is 5 per cent above it, a gap he reads as pent-up demand. Pending sales are watched as a leading indicator because contracts are signed a few months before a sale closes.[2]

Falkirk sells in 11 days while Melton waits 76

Homes in 180 of the 363 local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales are taking longer to sell than a year ago, according to the property platform Zoopla, even though the national average is unchanged at 42 days. The 10 fastest markets are all in Scotland, led by Falkirk at 11 days, while eight local authorities average two months or more. Carlisle and Barnsley were the fastest non-Scottish markets at 23 days each, and Melton in the East Midlands was the slowest at 76 days, ahead of Westminster and Teignbridge. Zoopla links the widening regional gap to mortgage volatility during the Iran war, with buyers in slower areas waiting to see whether a better deal appears. Moneyfacts data show the average two-year fixed residential mortgage rate at 5.61 per cent on Monday.[3]

References

  1. News sourceU.S. Census BureauUS housing starts fall 12.4 per cent in July while permits climb 5.0 per cent↩
  2. News sourceKitco NewsUS pending home sales fall 2.3 per cent in July against forecasts of a small rise↩
  3. News sourceThe GuardianHomes sell fastest in Falkirk and slowest in Melton as the British market splits↩
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