July US housing starts data
- Prior was 1186K
- Starts up 22.6% m/m
- Building permits 1495K vs 1325K expected
- Permits up 18.8% m/m
Looking at the chart, the real takeaway here might be that a housing boom was starting in Dec-Feb. If not for the pandemic, the story of the US economy in 2020 would probably have been the red-hot housing market. Instead of snuffing that out, the pandemic has somehow accelerated it because of ultra-low interest rates.
