U.S. Housing Starts Decline 19.8 Percent in August...

The seasonally adjusted annual rate for privately owned housing starts dropped for the fifth consecutive month in August, falling to a rate of 1.67 million units, according to a report released yesterday by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce.

The August construction pace was down 6 percent from July and down 19.8 percent from a year ago. Single-family housing starts decreased 20.6 percent from August 2005, to a rate of 1.36 million units, while starts for buildings with five or more units decreased 16.9 percent to a rate of 265,000.

The number of building permits issued, which can be an indicator of future building activity, declined 21.9 percent from one year earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.72 million permits.

The construction pace for housing units decreased across the nation in June. The rate for privately owned housing starts declined 28.8 percent in the Midwest, 28.2 percent in the West, 24 percent in the Northeast, and 9.9 percent in the South.

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