Building Claws Higher in July

Building clawed 0.9 percent higher in July, but still underwhelmed year-over-year, according to the Commerce Department. Combined, housing starts totaled 1.17 million, with 303,000 multifamily (five units or more) starts and 862,000 single-family starts. On an annual basis, starts tumbled 1.4 percent.
Approvals for builds, encouragingly, increased 1.5 percent to 1.31 million permits, with approvals for single-family starts up 1.9 percent to 869,000. Approvals for multifamily starts came in at 41