WASHINGTON – Housing starts fell 4.5% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 791,000, the Commerce Department reported today.
October's figures represent a 38% decline since October 2007. By contrast, in September, housing starts fell 6.3%.
Single-family housing starts were 3.3% below the September level. Single family housing completions were down 7.7% from the previous month.
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Building permits for private housing fell 12% in October and were down 40% from October 2007.
The declines in housing starts 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 month-to-month decline was in the Northeast, which saw housing starts drop 31%. The declines in the Midwest, South and West were 13.7%, 7.5% and 1.5%, respectively.
The largest year-to-year drop was 51.6% in the Northeast. The declines in the West, Midwest and South were 39.1%, 38.2% and 33.9%, respectively.
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