Annual rate of construction falls 10.6% in October in a drop that surprises economists.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Home builders initiated construction of far fewer new homes in October than the month before, a big and unexpected drop for the struggling industry, according to a government report issued Wednesday.
Homebuilders began construction at an annual rate of 529,000 new homes during the month, 10.6% below the revised September rate of 592,000 and 30.7% below the 763,000 rate during October 2008. It was the lowest level of housing starts since April, when the annual rate was 479,000.
A panel of industry observers compiled by Briefing.com had forecast housing starts of 600,000 during the month. It was the second month in a row of dashed housing start expectations.The numbers stink, said real estate analyst Mike Larson of Weiss Research. They're negative across the board.
That weakness included the number of building permits issued in October, which fell to seasonally adjusted annual rate of 552,000. That was 4% below the revised September rate of 575,000 and 24.3% below the October 2008 estimate of 729,000.
The slowdown in construction means that there are many fewer new homes for sale, about 251,000 in all. That's the smallest inventory since 1983, according to Larson.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Home builders initiated construction of far fewer new homes in October than the month before, a big and unexpected drop for the struggling industry, according to a government report issued Wednesday.
Homebuilders began construction at an annual rate of 529,000 new homes during the month, 10.6% below the revised September rate of 592,000 and 30.7% below the 763,000 rate during October 2008. It was the lowest level of housing starts since April, when the annual rate was 479,000.
A panel of industry observers compiled by Briefing.com had forecast housing starts of 600,000 during the month. It was the second month in a row of dashed housing start expectations.The numbers stink, said real estate analyst Mike Larson of Weiss Research. They're negative across the board.
That weakness included the number of building permits issued in October, which fell to seasonally adjusted annual rate of 552,000. That was 4% below the revised September rate of 575,000 and 24.3% below the October 2008 estimate of 729,000.
The slowdown in construction means that there are many fewer new homes for sale, about 251,000 in all. That's the smallest inventory since 1983, according to Larson.
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