US housing starts jump 9.6% in August, fastest climb since April

​​​​​​​By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US housing starts jumped 9.6% in August, increasing at the fastest pace since April, according to data released Wednesday.

Housing starts, which measure the change in the number of new residential buildings beginning construction, stood at 1.356 million, according to the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The expectation for the figure was to come in at 1.31 million.

The July figure, meanwhile, was revised from 1.238 million to 1.237 million, or from a decline of 6.8% to 6.9%.

Annually, housing starts in August were up 3.9%, compared to the same month last year when they stood at 1.305 million.

Building permits, a key indicator of market demand, increased 4.9% monthly to 1.475 million in August.

That figure also came in higher than expectations of 1.41 million, while the July figure was revised up from 1.396 million to 1.406 million, or from a decline of 4% to 3.3%.

Building permits in August were down 6.5% from the same month in 2023 when they stood at 1.578 million.