While homebuilder confidence spiked this mornth to near cycle highs, Housing Starts plunged 5.8% MoM – the biggest drop in 5 months; and building permits slipped 0.4% MoM – the second monthly drop in a row. Below the surface, things are more troubling as Rental unit permits (forward-looking) dropped to April lows (perhaps the surgeing rent-flation is finally crushing demand). Worse still Single-family housing starts are the worst since October.
Confidence seems a little misplaced…
Both single-family and rental units saw Starts drop – but Single-Family is weakest since October…
Permits tumbled for rental units – worst since April…
However it appears a lot of the drop might be due to the weather as Starts in the south slumped 14.8% and Permits -3.4%.
via http://ift.tt/2cjEa4H Tyler Durden