Housing Starts Decline in September Oct 20, 2008

Printable format  Email this Article  Search

U.S. builders further reduced new housing production in September, according to numbers reported by the U.S. Commerce Department. Commerce indicated that nationwide housing starts declined 6.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 817,000 units, the slowest building pace since early 1991.

Total housing starts fell 6.3% to an 817,000-unit rate in September following a substantial downward revision to the August number. Single-family starts declined 12% to a rate of 544,000 units, which is the slowest pace of new-home production since August 1982. Meanwhile, multifamily starts rose 7.5% to 273,000 units, partially offsetting a big decline in the previous month.

Regionally, starts activity was mixed in September. The Northeast and West each posted double-digit declines (of 21% and 16.8%, respectively), while the Midwest and South each posted modest gains (of 5.6% and 0.5%, respectively).

Back to Daily News