Housing Starts Drop 11% in October

Housing starts fell 11% in October, while building permits also declined, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Starts fell to an annual rate of 529,000 units, the lowest level since April, from a 592,000 rate in September that was higher than previously estimated.

The level was below economists’ projections of 600,000 starts, Bloomberg reported.

Building permits, an indicator of new construction, fell to a 552,000 annual rate, also below forecasts.

Single-family home starts, which account for about 85% of the industry, decreased 6.8% to a 476,000 annual rate. Work on multifamily units, which are often volatile, plunged 35% to an 53,000 rate.

The decrease was led by a 19% drop in the Northeast, but all four regions of the country declined.