Although permits to build new homes gained 11.0 percent year-over-year, the permit rate declined 3.8 percent in August from July's 954,000-unit rate. Building permits have declined three out of the last four reported months, after reaching a high point of 1.005 million units in April. Housing start increases have been similarly erratic after peaking just above one million units in March. The 19.0 percent year-over-year increase corresponds with a tepid 0.9 percent increase from July, due to a decline in multi-family housing.

918,000 annual rate, new building permits, seasonally adjusted (SA)
891,000 annual rate, new housing starts, seasonally adjusted (SA)
+11.0% building permits rate change since August 2012 (SA)
+19.0% housing starts rate change since August 2012 (SA)
2.26 building permits annual rate peak (millions), September 2005
2.27 housing starts annual rate peak (millions), January 2006

58 - The builder confidence index for the new single-family home market held steady at 58 in September after four consecutive months of improvements. The index's components measuring current sales conditions and sales expectations for the next six months remained positive, with scores of 62 and 65 respectively. The element gauging prospective buyer traffic, while still negative with a score of 47, increased one point to the highest since October 2005.
Source: National Assn. of Homebuilders/Wells Fargo

291 - The improving housing markets index (IMI) gained 44 markets in September, reaching 291 total markets and representing more than 80 percent of the major metropolitan areas surveyed for the index. "The dramatic increase in [September] markets was partly due to a recent improvement in the way that Freddie Mac measures home prices," said NAHB chief economist David Crowe. NAHB plans to discontinue the IMI and replace it with a new index in October.
Source: National Assn. of Homebuilders/First American