The Commerce Department reported on Tuesday the housing starts surged by 6.3 percent m-o-m in June to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.643 million (the highest level since March), while building permits tumbled by 5.1 percent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.598 (the lowest level since October 2020).

Economists had forecast housing starts increasing to a pace of 1.590 million units last month and building permits growing to a pace of 1.700 million units.

Data for May was revised to show homebuilding growing to a pace of 1.546 million units, instead of increasing at a rate of 1.572 million units as previously reported.

According to the report, permits for single-family homes, the largest segment of the market, plunged 6.3 percent m-o-m in June, while approvals for the multi-family homes segment fell 2.6 percent m-o-m.

In the meantime, groundbreaking on single-family homes climbed 6.3 percent m-o-m in June, while housing starts for the multi-family jumped 6.8 percent m-o-m.