![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/new-construction-house-compressed-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto: James Bombales<\/em><\/p>\n After plunging a record 30.2 percent in April, privately-owned housing starts rebounded in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.19 million units, according to the latest <\/span>US Census Bureau data<\/span><\/a>. That\u2019s a 17.3 percent increase over May\u2019s estimated total, but still 4 percent below the 1.26 million units that kicked off construction in June 2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Building permits were issued for more than 1.24 million privately-owned housing units on a seasonally adjusted basis, representing a 2.1 percent uptick from May but a 2.5 percent decline compared to the same period last year.<\/p>\n There were 834,000 permits granted for single-family homes, an 11.8 percent month-over-month boost, \u201csuggesting new building has momentum heading into the third quarter,\u201d said Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae. Meanwhile, permits for buildings with five or more units equated to 368,000 in June.<\/p>\n Both single-family and multifamily construction showed signs of progress last month. Privately-owned housing completions were up 4.3 percent over May estimates at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.23 million units. Completions for single-family homes amounted to 910,000 units \u2014 9.6 percent more than in May \u2014 while those for multi-family properties clocked in at 311,000.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>\u201cContinued strong home purchase demand driven by historically low mortgage rates and tight inventories of existing homes for sale should support near-term single-family construction,\u201d noted Duncan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n