Housing starts fell 0.8% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.432 million units, according to Reuters. Economist expected starts to fall to a rate of 1.4 million units.
Applications for building permits, a good indication of future activity, fell 8.8% to 1.413 million units in March.
Single-family housing starts rose 2.7% to a rate of 861,000 units, and multifamily starts fell 6.7% to a rate of 542,000 units. Building permits for single-family homes climbed 4.1% to a rate of 818,000 units, and permits for multifamily homes fell 24.3% to a rate of 543,000.
The number of houses approved for construction that are yet to be started fell 3% to 291,000 units.
Additionally, mortgage rates have fallen; the rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage declined from a peak of 7.08% in early November 2022 to 6.27% during the week of April 10.
