Inman News

New homes authorized by permits dropped 6% in June, but the single-family sector only saw a 0.4% annual decrease.

The number of privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits dropped 6.1 percent from May to June and fell 6.6 percent year-over-year, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, released Wednesday.

Despite both the monthly and annual decline numbers coming in at above 6 percent, single-family authorizations were only down 0.4 percent month-over-month, meaning most of the issues were in the multifamily sector.

“Restrictive and costly regulations, rising construction costs and an ongoing labor shortage in the construction industry continue to put pressure on builders,” Odeta Kushi, the deputy chief economist at First American, said in a statement. “If these supply headwinds persist, buyers looking for homes may be facing a tighter market in the second half of the year.”

Privately-owned housing starts are down 0.9 percent month-over-month and up 6.2 percent year-over-year. Single-family housing starts are up 3.5 percent month-over-month.

Privately-owned housing completions also saw declines, falling 4.8 percent month-over-month and 3.7 percent year-over-year. Single-family housing completions dropped 1.8 percent month-over-month.