Housing Starts, Permits Fall in June

Washington, DC, July 17, 2013 -- Housing starts and building permits both fell in June, according to the Commerce Department.

The government said housing starts dropped 9.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 836,000 units. That was the lowest level since August. Most of the decline in both categories was due to a slide in multi-family housing starts.

Permits for single-family homes actually increased 0.6%.

Economists expected starts to rise to a 959,000-unit rate last month.

Meanwhile, permits overall fell 7.5% to a 911,000-unit pace. Economists were expecting a 1-million unit pace.

Groundbreaking for single-family homes fell 0.8% to a 591,000-unit pace, the lowest since November 2012. Multi-family starts homes 26.2% to a 245,000-unit rate.