Housing Starts Decline in August but Permits Rise

Washington, DC, Sept. 20, 20110 -- Builders began construction on fewer homes in August, according to the Commerce Department.

Housing starts fell 5% to an annual rate of 571,000 last month, compared with a downwardly revised 601,000 in July, the government said.

Economists had expected housing starts to fall to 590,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Most of August’s decline took place in the Northeast and it was concentrated in multi-unit buildings.

Construction of single-family homes, which account for three-quarters of the housing market, fell 1.4% to an annual rate of 417,000.

However, permits for new construction actually rose 3.2% to an annual rate of 620,000, the highest level since January.

Single-family permits increased 2.5% to 413,000, the best showing since December.