August housing starts unexpectedly rose to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.575 million. While up 12.2% M-o-M, starts dipped 0.1% Y-o-Y. More significantly, single-family starts at 935,000, while up from 904,000 M-o-M are, ignoring the first months of Covid-19, at their lowest level since 11/19. Conversely, multifamily starts at 621,000 are jumping to their highest level since 4/86, and are up 31% Y-o-Y. Housing is increasingly a multifamily affair.