These numbers are worse than expected.
The pace of U.S. home building fell more sharply than expected in August as builders broke ground on new homes at the slowest rate since April 2003, a government report showed on Tuesday.
But again, it's what the prognosticators say, and I wonder.
Here are the details.
The Commerce Department said U.S. housing starts fell 6.0 percent n August to an annual pace of 1.665 million units, compared to a downwardly revised 1.772 million in July.
Again may I point out that the July numbers were "revised". You mean, they were wrong. Take than into consideration when you look at these numbers.
Permits for future groundbreaking, an indicator of builder confidence, fell 2.3 percent to a 1.722 million-unit annual pace, the lowest in four years. Economists had expected the Commerce Department to report August permits at a 1.745 million pace.
That's indicative of builder confidence. What about prospective homeowners?
U.S. single-family starts dropped 5.9 percent to a pace of 1.360 million units, the lowest level since February 2003. Single family permits were down 3.5 percent to an annual pace of 1.279 million units, the lowest since December 2001.
Again, these numbers reflect what the building industry is hoping future sales will consume. This article does not look at what's actually happening in the marketplace.
Just keep that in mind. One set of figures does not a whole story make.
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