U.S. housing starts lowest since 1959
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Two key measurements of the housing market show that the sector is a long way from ending its historic slump, but the South showed slight improvement.
A new report from the U.S. Commerce Department shows housing starts reached an annual rate of 791,000 last month, the lowest level since the department began tracking starts in 1959. The October rate plunged 4.5 percent from the revised reading of 828,000 in September.
On top of that news, building permits fell 12 percent to an annual rate of 708,000 in October, breaking the previous low of 709,000 in March 1975. The annual rate for September was revised to 805,000. Building permits are an indicator of building activity in the next three to six months.
The declines last month were led by a 31 percent drop in the Northeast, where construction of single-family homes fell to a record low. Home starts dropped 13.7 percent in the Midwest, but rose 7.5 percent in the West and a 1.5 percent in the South.
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