U.S. housing starts rise in July

WASHINGTON — Building permits for privately owned housing units in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,152,000, representing a 0.1% decline from last month but an increase of 0.9% from last July. At the same time, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that privately owned housing starts were at a SAAR of 1,211,000. This is 2.1% above the revised June estimate of 1,186,000 and 5.6% above the July 2015 rate of 1,147,000.