Housing Starts Rise

Housing starts rose 0.5 percent in September compared to August to an annual rate of 590,000, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Commerce Department. Single-family home construction, which accounts for 85 percent of the market, increased 3.9 percent to a 501,000 annual rate. Multi-family housing fell 15 percent to an 89,000 rate. Building permits, an indicator of future construction, declined 1.2 percent from the August rate to a 573,000 annual rate in September. Most of the gain in single-family starts was attributable to a 7.1 percent increase in the South. The other regions fell with the West declining 8.8 percent.
Source: Bloomberg News, Courtney Schlisserman (10/20/2009)