HOUSING STARTS AND BUILDING PERMITS IN AUGUST 1996 PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING STARTS Privately owned housing starts in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,525,000, according to estimates reported today by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of the Census. This is 4 (+/-7) percent above the revised July rate of 1,460,000 and 9 (+/-7) percent above the August 1995 rate of 1,401,000. Single-family housing starts in August 1996 were at a rate of 1,238,000; this is 8 (+/-5) percent above the July figure of 1,143,000. The August rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 251,000. The August rate for units in buildings with two to four units was 36,000. During the first 8 months of this year, 1,009,300 housing units were started compared with 905,600 units for the same period in 1995. This is an increase of 11 (+/-2) percent. BUILDING PERMITS The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing units authorized by building permits in August was 1,393,000; this is 4 (+/-1) percent below the revised July rate of 1,457,000, but 1 (+/-1) percent above the August 1995 figure of 1,379,000. Single-family authorizations in August 1996 were at a rate of 1,073,000, unchanged (+/-1 percent) from the July figure. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 261,000 in August; this is 17 percent below the July estimate of 316,000. The August rate of permit-authorized units in buildings with two to four units was 59,000. During the first 8 months of this year, 978,300 housing units were authorized by building permits compared with 881,000 units for the same period in 1995. This is an increase of 11 (+/-1) percent. MOBILE HOME SHIPMENTS Statistics on mobile home shipments, which lag by 1 month, appear in the Current Construction Reports, series C20. In July, manufacturers' shipments of mobile homes were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 372,000, the same as the June figure. The July 1995 rate was 337,000. Before seasonal adjustment, total shipments in July 1996 were 29,100. The next press release is scheduled to be issued on Thursday, October 17, 1996, at 8:30 A.M. EDT. EXPLANATORY NOTES In interpreting changes in the statistics in this release, note that month-to-month changes in seasonally adjusted statistics often show movements which may be irregular. It may take 4 months to establish an underlying trend for total starts, 3 months for building permit authorizations, and 2 months for mobile home shipments. Except for those on mobile home shipments, the statistics in this release are estimated from sample surveys and are subject to sampling variability as well as nonsampling error including bias and variance from response, nonreporting, and undercoverage. Estimated average relative standard errors of preliminary data are shown in the tables. Whenever a statement such as "2 (+/-3) percent above" appears in the text, this indicates the range (-1 to +5 percent) in which the actual percent change is likely to have occurred. All ranges given for percent changes are 90- percent confidence intervals and account only for sampling variability. If a range contains zero, it is uncertain whether there was an increase or decrease; that is, the change is not statistically significant. For any comparison cited without a confidence interval, the change is statistically significant. The May 1996 Current Construction Reports, C20/96-5, includes explanations of confidence intervals and sampling variability. On average, the preliminary seasonally adjusted estimates of total housing starts and building permits are revised about +/-1 percent. Statistics on mobile home shipments are compiled from manufacturers' reports to the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards (NCSBCS). Questions regarding these data may be directed to Manufacturing and Construction Division, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: AUGUST 1996 In structures with - 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1995 - August 1,401 1,135 28 238 September 1,401 1,130 39 232 October 1,351 1,109 31 211 November 1,458 1,129 32 297 December 1,425 1,150 29 246 1996 - January 1,453 1,146 20 287 February 1,514 1,183 33 298 March 1,439 1,163 25 251 April 1,511 1,209 53 249 May 1,478 1,144 49 285 June(r) 1,490 1,209 46 235 July(r) 1,460 1,143 43 274 AUGUST(p) 1,525 1,238 36 251 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 9 10 Not seasonally adjusted 1994 1,457.0 1,198.4 14.8 20.2 223.5 1995 1,354.1 1,076.2 14.3 19.4 244.1 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 10 5 1 1995 First 8 months 905.6 721.3 10.1 13.1 161.1 1996 First 8 months 1,009.3 807.1 9.5 17.5 175.2 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 9 6 3 1995 - August 135.8 108.5 0.6 2.1 24.6 September 122.4 97.7 1.7 1.7 21.3 October 126.2 101.5 0.8 1.6 22.2 November 107.2 82.0 1.2 1.6 22.4 December 92.8 73.7 0.5 1.3 17.2 1996 - January 90.7 68.9 0.3 0.8 20.6 February 95.9 74.2 0.9 1.1 19.7 March 116.0 96.9 1.0 1.0 17.1 April 146.6 117.9 2.0 3.4 23.3 May 143.9 111.6 1.6 3.0 27.7 June(r) 138.0 115.0 1.6 3.3 18.2 July(r) 136.1 108.1 1.1 2.9 24.0 AUGUST(p) 142.3 114.5 1.1 2.0 24.7 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 12 12 10 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Manufacturing and Construction Division, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY REGION: AUGUST 1996 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1995 - August 1,401 119 320 626 336 September 1,401 116 308 616 361 October 1,351 120 278 606 347 November 1,458 103 318 708 329 December 1,425 93 305 679 348 1996 - January 1,453 99 333 625 396 February 1,514 130 317 648 419 March 1,439 139 325 634 341 April 1,511 136 322 660 393 May 1,478 129 324 678 347 June(r) 1,490 128 301 684 377 July(r) 1,460 129 349 649 333 AUGUST(p) 1,525 138 342 667 378 AVG. RSE(%) 3 7 7 5 4 Not seasonally adjusted 1994 1,457.0 138.2 328.9 639.1 350.8 1995 1,354.1 117.7 290.1 615.0 331.3 AVG. RSE (%) 1 1 2 2 1 1995 First 8 months 905.6 80.0 190.1 411.7 223.7 1996 First 8 months 1,009.3 86.1 218.2 449.4 255.6 AVG. RSE (%) 1 1 2 2 1 1995 - August 135.8 12.0 33.7 56.7 33.4 September 122.4 10.4 28.6 51.7 31.7 October 126.2 12.1 29.6 53.6 30.9 November 107.2 8.6 24.7 51.6 22.3 December 92.8 6.5 17.1 46.3 22.8 1996 - January 90.7 5.0 14.7 43.8 27.2 February 95.9 6.1 13.8 46.9 29.0 March 116.0 10.0 24.0 54.5 27.4 April 146.6 13.1 31.8 64.3 37.3 May 143.9 12.6 33.6 65.2 32.5 June(r) 138.0 13.4 30.9 58.6 35.1 July(r) 136.1 12.4 34.6 58.2 30.8 AUGUST(p) 142.3 13.5 34.8 57.8 36.2 AVG. RSE (%) 3 7 7 5 4 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the s period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Manufacturing and Construction Division, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: AUGUST 1996 In structures with - 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted annual rate (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 - August 1,379 1,046 62 271 September 1,427 1,079 69 279 October 1,393 1,050 68 275 November 1,450 1,073 71 306 December 1,487 1,123 60 304 1996 - January 1,378 1,056 65 257 February 1,417 1,087 60 270 March 1,423 1,097 61 265 April 1,459 1,115 75 269 May 1,452 1,098 62 292 June 1,415 1,085 62 268 July(r) 1,457 1,073 68 316 AUGUST(p) 1,393 1,073 59 261 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 4 2 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994 1,371.6 1,068.5 31.4 30.8 241.0 1995 1,332.5 997.3 32.2 31.5 271.5 AVG. RSE(%) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) 1995 First 8 months 881.0 669.3 21.4 20.2 170.2 1996 First 8 months 978.3 754.8 22.2 20.8 180.4 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 2 3 1 1995 - August 133.5 101.4 3.1 3.0 26.1 September 124.1 90.1 3.0 3.0 28.1 October 122.2 90.8 3.1 3.3 25.0 November 107.8 78.4 2.9 3.1 23.5 December 97.4 68.8 1.9 2.0 24.7 1996 - January 87.3 65.5 2.1 1.9 17.8 February 94.9 73.6 2.1 1.8 17.4 March 119.9 95.1 2.6 2.4 19.6 April 139.4 109.4 3.7 3.4 23.0 May 140.5 109.7 3.0 2.9 24.9 June 130.6 100.7 2.9 3.0 24.0 July(r) 135.7 101.4 3.0 2.9 28.4 AUGUST(p) 126.6 98.0 2.7 2.4 23.5 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 5 5 2 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 - August 130.4 77.1 4.6 48.7 1996 - June(r) 143.3 84.6 4.0 54.7 July(r) 147.8 86.5 4.9 56.4 AUGUST(p) 137.5 78.2 5.3 54.0 AVG. RSE(%) 3 4 8 6 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (X) Not applicable. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Manufacturing and Construction Division, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY REGION: AUGUST 1996 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 - August 1,379 122 309 601 347 September 1,427 128 313 637 349 October 1,393 125 323 629 316 November 1,450 124 324 634 368 December 1,487 128 317 644 398 1996 - January 1,378 102 312 594 370 February 1,417 122 323 600 372 March 1,423 137 329 591 366 April 1,459 135 342 634 348 May 1,452 137 304 668 343 June 1,415 134 302 634 345 July(r) 1,457 136 338 625 358 AUGUST(p) 1,393 149 305 620 319 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 2 1 1 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994 1,371.6 138.5 305.2 585.5 342.4 1995 1,332.5 124.2 296.6 583.2 328.5 AVG. RSE(%) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) 1995 First 8 months 881.0 82.7 193.2 386.7 218.4 1996 First 8 months 978.3 90.9 215.7 430.0 241.7 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 1 1 1 1995 - August 133.5 12.3 31.9 55.9 33.5 September 124.1 11.2 28.9 55.0 29.1 October 122.2 11.9 31.9 51.5 27.0 November 107.8 10.5 24.9 46.3 26.2 December 97.4 8.0 17.8 43.8 27.8 1996 - January 87.3 5.5 14.0 44.2 23.5 February 94.9 6.0 16.8 46.0 26.1 March 119.9 10.5 26.4 51.6 31.3 April 139.4 12.9 34.0 60.3 32.2 May 140.5 14.3 32.2 62.1 31.9 June 130.6 13.1 28.7 55.0 33.8 July(r) 135.7 13.5 33.5 54.7 34.0 AUGUST(p) 126.6 14.3 29.4 54.4 28.6 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 2 1 1 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 - August 130.4 16.0 18.1 67.3 28.9 1996 - June(r) 143.3 17.9 25.5 73.2 26.7 July(r) 147.8 18.7 25.5 73.9 29.7 AUGUST(p) 137.5 19.5 21.4 73.0 23.5 AVG. RSE(%) 3 7 8 5 5 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (X) Not applicable. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Manufacturing and Construction Division, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301)457-4703.