U.S. homebuilding decreased 5.1% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.416 million units, according to www.cnbc.com. The rate was lower than economists’ expectations of 1.478 million units.
Applications for building permits, a good indication of future activity, fell 0.9% to 1.47 million units.
Single-family starts grew 4.1% to 1.021 million units, and multifamily starts decreased 22.7% to a rate of 395,000 units.
Despite nearly 30 million people being on unemployment benefits, the housing market has been outperforming the broader economy; unemployment has disproportionately affected low-wage workers, who typically are renters. Freddie Mac reports the 30-year fixed mortgage rate is at an average of about 2.86%.