Trends to Track: Housing Starts
The good news for August is that total housing starts increased by 9.2%, which translates into an annual rate of 1.28 million units, according to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. 
Another uptick in the total overall view of the market was seen in the multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, which also increased by 29.3% to a total of 408,000 units.
An interesting wrinkle in the construction market was discovered in the number of overall permits being issued. As housing production rose, the number of permits issued fell by 5.7% to 1.23 million units in August.
Though the research didn’t offer an underlying factor for the decline, there are a couple reasons for this lower number of housing starts.
Contributing to the decline in housing permits is the shortage of skilled labor. Another component that may have contributed to the decline in housing permits for some regions is limited number of buildable lots. Because of the growth of many communities, available lots for construction are dwindling.
Also, September is not usually a strong month for permits issued since that would place those starts in winter of 2019.
A final reason for the slowdown in the number of building permits might be attributed to affordability. Not only have interest rates risen but so have building materials and wages. Unaffordability combined with the housing shortage creates a smaller window for first-time buyers to enter into this market.
Trends to Track
U.S. household net worth was reported to near $1.7 trillion in the second quarter of 2018. The reason for the increase was two-fold: the record-breaking bull market which continues to shatter old records and the increase in home property values. As opposed to the previous peak back in 2006, homeowners are more conservative when tapping into their home equity and lenders are more strict. The tappable home equity for homeowners hit $6 trillion for the first time in history during the second quarter of 2018. Equity rose by $256 billion in the second quarter of 2018, which is less than the $381 billion accumulated in the first quarter of 2018.
Total American wealth has surpassed the $100 trillion mark for the first time in early 2018, which is an increase of 1% from the previous quarter in 2017. During the fourth quarter of 2017, Americans saw their wealth increase by $2.5 trillion.