Housing Starts Drop 9.4% in September

Housing starts fell 9.4% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,256,000, the U.S. Census Bureau reports. The rate is 1.6% above the September 2018 rate.

The decline is due to a significant drop in multifamily housing starts, which fell 28.2% during the month. Single-family starts grew 0.3%.

“Multifamily housing starts fell from an unsustainably high level in August and are running at a solid pace despite the sharp decline,” National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist Robert Dietz said in a statement. “Meanwhile, the rebound for single-family construction continues.”

Issued building permits fell 2.7% from August, and housing completions fell 9.7%.

The full Census Bureau report can be found here.