Housing starts in the United States July 2020

Residential construction in the United States picked up for a third consecutive month in July in the latest sign that the housing sector is emerging as one of the few areas of strength in an economy that is experiencing a record slowdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Housing starts rose 22.6% – far more than expected – to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.496 million units last month, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. The June data has been revised at a rate of 1.22 million units from the 1.186 million previously reported.

Economists polled by Reuters had predicted that housing starts would rise at a rate of 1.24 million units.