• Federal figures for housing starts in August showed the annual pace during the month went up 5.5%, which was enough to overcome a 4.9% drop in the pace of multifamily starts and keep the overall number positive.
• Single-family homes were begun at a rate that would result in 535,000 new houses for the year.
• Building permits, the other widely watched monthly statistic for housing, were down 1% from July. Single-family action was about even, but permits for multifamily slid 3.0%.

From the report:

Nationwide housing production rose 2.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 750,000 units in August, according to newly released figures from HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau. ...