According to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce, single-family housing starts in October dipped 1.1 percent to an annual rate of 436,000 units; the revised September figure was 441,000 units. A 43.5 percent decline in multi-family home starts caused overall housing starts to dive 11.7 percent, from a revised September mark of 588,000 units to 519,000 units in October.
"Home builders continue to be very cautious about starting new projects at this time," said Bob Jones, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), in a statement. "That said, in markets where consumer demand for new homes is reviving, builders are finding it almost impossible to obtain construction financing, and this frustrating situation is producing an unnecessary drag on both new home production and economic growth."
Overall, home starts are down 1.9 percent from the October 2009 rate of 529,000 units.
