Housing starts in the U.S. tumbled 9.6 percent in July to an annualized pace of 1.446 million units, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. That was their lowest level since February of last year and a steeper decline than the 1.56 million rate projected by economists in a Reuters poll. June’s preliminary estimate was revised from 1.56 million units up to 1.6 million.
Building permits in July were also down. Overall, permits declined 1.3 percent to a rate of 1.674 million units. In the single-family sector, permits fell by 4.3 percent to a rate of 928,000 units.
