Housing starts fell 6.1% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.381 million, the lowest since January 1997. The decline was larger than the expected fall to 1.40 million.
Authorized building permits dropped 2.8% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.373 million, the lowest since October 1996 and less than the 1.40 million pace expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch.
Housing starts are down 21% in the past year, while permits have fallen 23%.
