U.S. housing starts climb in August

WASHINGTON — U.S. housing starts in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,282,000, up 9.2% from the previous month, and ahead by 9.4% over August 2017. Single-family starts were up 1.9%, while multi-unit housing starts were up 2.5%. However, looking ahead at building intentions, the number of building permits issued in August fell by 5.7% seasonally adjusted from July’s rate, and they were down 5.5% year over year.