Housing starts fell 11.3% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.283 million units, according to Reuters. Economists expected starts to fall to 1.44 million units; the July rate was revised from 1.452 million units to 1.447 million units.
Applications for building permits, a good indication of future activity, rose 6.9% to 1.543 million units in August.
Single-family housing starts fell 4.3% to a rate of 941,000 units, and multifamily starts fell 26.3% to a rate of 334,000 units. Building permits for single-family homes climbed 2% to a rate of 949,000 units, and permits for multifamily homes rose 14.8% to a rate of 535,000 units.
