WASHINGTON — Housing starts fell 6.2% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 854,000, the lowest level since 1991, the Commerce Department reported today.
August's figures represent a 6.2% drop from July and a 33% decline since August 2007.
Single-family housing starts were 1.9% below the July level. Single-family housing completions were down 17% from the previous month.
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Building permits for private housing fell 8.9% in August and were down 36.4% from August 2007.
The declines in new home sales and in building permits reflect the large number of existing homes that are unsold as a result of the problems in the housing market.
The largest year-to-year decline was in the West, which saw housing starts drop 48.7%. The declines in the Northeast, South and Midwest were 43.5%, 31.4% and 24.9%, respectively.
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