U.S. Housing Starts Decline 11 Percent in June, 2006

The seasonally adjusted annual rate for privately owned housing starts dropped for the third consecutive month in June, falling to a rate of 1.85 million units, according to a report released by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce.

The June construction pace was down 5.3 percent from May and down 11 percent from a year ago. Single-family housing starts decreased 13.8 percent from June 2005, to a rate of 1.49 million units, while starts for buildings with five or more units decreased 3.2 percent to a rate of 306,000.

The number of building permits issued, which can be an indicator of future building activity, declined 14.9 percent from one year earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.86 million permits.

The rate of new residential construction decreased across the nation in June. In the Northeast and South, housing starts declined 12.8 percent, while the construction pace fell 9.6 percent and 7.3 percent in the Midwest and West, respectively.

**Taken from the California Association of Realtors Bulletin, dated July 20, 2006.