by Overall housing construction activity also rises slightly over May, a sign that furniture spending may soon pick up as consumers move into those new homes
WASHINGTON — Privately owned housing completions rose 15.5% in June over June 2023, a bright spot in housing construction activity that means more people could be buying furniture soon as they prepare to move into those homes.
According to U.S. Department of Commerce figures released this week, there were 1,710,000 housing completions in June, up 15.5% from 1,480,000 in June 2023 and also 10.1% higher than a revised estimate of 1,553,000 in May.
June building permits and housing starts fell year over year, however, although they also were above the May estimates.
Building permits totaled 1,446,000 in June, 3.1% below 1,493,000 in June 2023 and 3.4% above a revised May figure of 1,399,000.
Meanwhile, housing starts totaled 1,353,000, 4.4% below 1,415,000 in June but 3% above a revised May rate of 1,314,000.
The figures offer a view of new housing construction activity which tends to spur furniture sales at various points during the home purchase cycle, and largely depending on how close people are to moving into those new homes, including single-family properties.
Single-family building permits totaled 934,000 in June, 2.3% below the revised May figure of 956,000, and single-family housing starts totaled 980,000 in June, 2.2% below a revised May figure of 1,002,000. There were 1,037,000 single-family homes completed in June, up 1.8% above the revised May figure of 1,019,000.
By region, activity was as follows:
In the Northeast, there were 39,000 residential building permits issued, up 11.4% from 35,000 issued in June 2023 and 2.6% above 38,000 issued in May. There were 121,000 homes started in the region, up 24.7% from 97,000 started in June 2023 and up 34.4% from 90,000 started in May. There were 137,000 units completed, up 3% from 133,000 completed in June 2023 and up 50.5% from 91,000 completed in May.
In the Midwest, there were 25,000 residential building permits issued, up 19% from 21,000 issued in June 2023 and up 8.7% from 23,000 issued in May. There were 194,000 units started in the region, up 16.2% from 167,000 started in June 2023 and up 26.8% from 153,000 started in May. There were 326,000 residential units completed in the region, up 74.3% from 187,000 completed in June 2023 and up 53.8% from 212,000 completed in May.
In the South, there were 149,000 residential building permits issued, down 2.6% from 153,000 issued in June 2023 and even with 149,000 in May. There were 732,000 units started, down 10% from 813,000 started in June 2023 and down 1.7% from 745,000 started in May. There were 887,000 units completed, up 5.7% from 839,000 completed in June and up 2.3% from 867,000 completed in May.
In the West, there were 64,000 residential building permits issued, down 1.5% from 65,000 in June 2023 and up 3.2% from 62,000 issued in May. There were 306,000 units started, down 9.5% from the 338,000 started in June 2023 and down 6.1% from 326,000 in May. There were 360,000 units completed in June, up 12.3% from 321,000 in June 2023 and down 6% from 383,000 in May.
