Housing starts continued to set a fast pace last month, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Aug. 17.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)

Land Use Law Report, August, 2004

HOUSING STARTS CONTINUED to set a fast pace last month, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Aug. 17. Sales were 8.3 percent above June's rate, at a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.978 million units. Single-family starts were up 8.5 percent, and multifamily starts rose 7.5 percent. The latter was 8.4 percent below the pace of June 2003.

The West saw the biggest increase in starts, 15.8 percent, followed by the Northeast at 15.7 percent. Sales in the Midwest and South each were up 4.3 percent. Building permits were up 5.7 percent. Most of the increase in permits came from a 38.6 percent increase in multifamily permits. Single-family permits rose 1.5 percent.