Housing starts dropped 15.4% in May to 1.177 million units, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Applications for building permits, a good indication of future activity, fell 0.7% to 1.413 million units in May.
Single-family housing starts fell 1.9% to a rate of 882,000 units. Multifamily starts plunged 41.6% to a rate of 284,000 units. Building permits for single-family homes rose 0.6% to a rate of 886,000 units, and permits for multifamily homes fell 3.5% to a rate of 474,000 units.
The rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.47% during the week ending June 19; it averaged 5.98% at the end of February.
