Housing Starts, Permits Decrease in July

Washington, DC, Aug. 16, 2011 --New home construction fell 1.5% in July while applications for building permits also fell 3.2%, according to the Commerce Department.

The government said that housing starts came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 604,000 in July.

The figure came in slightly lower than the rate of 608,000 economists had expected.

Applications for building permits fell 3.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 597,000, lower than the expected rate of 606,000.