Housing permits and starts tell 2 different stories

Right now housing and cars are carrying the US economy, in the face of a shallow industrial recession partly in the Oil patch, and partly about the strong US$. Today’s housing report is still affected, as to multi-unit dwellings, by the rush to obtain permits in NYC during May and June due to the expiration of an assistance program.

Here is the longer term look at housing permits (blue) and starts (red) dating back to the beginning of 2013. Remember that starts tend to lag permits by a month or so, and starts are about twice as volatile as permits: