Housing Starts Rise 0.5% in September

Housing starts rose 0.5% in September, while building permits declined, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Starts rose to an annual rate of 590,000 units, from a 587,000 rate in August that was lower than previously estimated.

The level was below economists’ projections of 610,000 starts, Bloomberg reported.

Building permits, an indicator of new construction, fell 1.2% to a 573,000 annual rate, also below forecasts.

Single-family home starts, which account for about 85% of the industry, rose 3.9% to a 501,000 annual rate. Work on multifamily units, which are often volatile, fell 15% to an 89,000 rate.

New home sales have risen in seven of eight months since hitting a 40-year low in January.

Starts were led by a 7.1% jump in the South, while they declined in the three other national regions. The West had the biggest decline, at 8.8%, followed by the Northeast at 5.5% and the Midwest and 1.8%.