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Builder Confidence Falls to 39 Builder Confidence fell two points to 39 in August after falling to a downwardly revised 41 in July, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The HMI index charting current sales conditions in August fell two points to 44, the gauge charting traffic of prospective buyers dropped two points to 25. The component measuring sales expectations in the next six months increased one point to 49 as builders continue to believe a rate cut is coming in September that will help make building more affordable. NAHB pointed out that the majority of responses were tabulated before mortgage rates dropped mid-month. Regional three-month moving averages were mixed. Any number over 50 indicates that more builders have a positive outlook than a negative one. Building Permits Fall 4.0% Overall building permits fell 4.0% in July to a 1.4 million annual pace after rising to 1.45 million units in June. Single-family permits decreased 0.1% to 938,000 units after falling to a downwardly revised number in June. Multifamily permits dropped 11.1% to an annualized pace of 438,000 homes after rising to 512,000 homes in June. Regional permit issuance was mixed. Housing Starts Fall 6.8% Housing starts fell 6.8% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.24 million units after rising to 1.35 million units in June. Single-family starts fell 2.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 980,000 units from an upwardly revised reading in May. Single-family starts fell 14.1% to 851,000 annual units from an upwardly revised reading in June. Inventory was at a relatively low 4.4-months’ supply. Multifamily starts are typically very volatile. Regional housing starts were mixed. Single-family homes under construction fell 4.1% year over year to 653,000. The number of multifamily units under construction fell 13.2% to 886,000 units. The number of multifamily units under construction is now the lowest since July 2022. New Home Sales Rise 10.6% New home sales rose 10.6% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 739,000 new homes after falling to 617,000 new homes in June, according to the National Association of Home Builders. After the notably higher revisions for the May and June data, new home sales from January through July of 2024 are up 2.6% in 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. New single-family home inventory fell 1.1% from June to 462,000, a 7.5 months’ supply at the current building pace. While a 6 months’ supply is considered normal. When combined with low inventory levels for existing homes, total home inventory (new and existing) is near 4.5 months, which remains low. Sales of new homes are tabulated when contracts are signed and are considered a more timely barometer of the housing market than purchases of previously-owned homes, which are calculated when a contract closes. Existing Home Sales Rise 1.3% Existing home sales rose 1.3% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.95 million after falling for the previous four months, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales were down 2.5% from July 2023 after being down 5.4% year over year in June. The median existing home sales price rose 4.2% year over year to $422,600, the 13th consecutive month of year-over-year price gains. The inventory of unsold existing homes rose 0.8% from June 2024 to 1.33 million homes, a 4.0 months' supply at the current monthly sales pace. Regional existing home sales were mixed. Regional Housing Data  Mortgage Rates Fall to 6.35% 
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