Commerce: Housing Starts Fall More Than Views in August

The Commerce Department said Thursday that U.S. housing starts fell more than expected in August, falling 3.0% to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.13 million-units. July’s starts, which were initially reported to be sideways but remained around a 10-year high, were revised down to a 1.16 million-unit rate from the previously reported 1.21 million-unit pace.

Still, despite the decrease, which was fueled by declines in groundbreaking on single and multifamily projects, starts remained above a one million-unit pace for the fifth straight month. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast groundbreaking on new homes falling to a 1.17 million-unit pace last month.

Meanwhile, building permits actually gained 3.5% last month to a 1.17 million-unit pace, after falling by 15.5% in July.

In August, groundbreaking for single-family homes, which accounts for the largest share of the market, fell 3.0 percent to a 739,000 unit pace. Single-family home building in the South, where most of the home construction takes place, rose 9.2 percent to the highest level since December 2007.

Starts for the volatile multifamily segment fell 3.0 percent to a 387,000 unit rate. Single-family building permits rose 2.8 percent in August to their highest level since January 2008. Multi-family building permits rose 4.7 percent.

A report on Wednesday showed confidence among homebuilders advancing to a near-decade high in September.