Housing Starts Fell in July on Weak Construction

Quote: Building permits, a proxy for future construction, also dropped. Federal Reserve said it would hold borrowing costs at a record low until at least mid-2013. Patrick NewportMassachusetts. “Demand for new homes is extremely weak and the foreclosure pipeline is still high. It’s because of the weak economy, weak job growth and falling home prices.” Prices of goods imported into the U.S. rose in July, led by gains in costs of fuel, industrial supplies and clothing, another report showed. The 0.3 percent gain in the import-price index followed a revised 0.6 percent drop in June, Labor Department figures showed. Shares Fall GermanyNew YorkTreasury securities rose, sending the yield on the benchmark 10-year note down to 2.27 percent from 2.31 percent late yesterday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 77 economists called for a 600,000 annual pace of starts. projections ranged from 570,000 to 650,000. The prior month was revised from 629,000 previously estimated. Housing starts so far this year are running on a 566,000 pace for all of 2011, according to Bloomberg calculations. The result compares with last year’s tally of 587,000 starts, the second-fewest on record. Home construction totaled 554,000 units in 2009, the lowest since record-keeping began in 1959. During the past decade’s housing boom, starts reached a peak of 2.07 million in 2005. Fewer Permits Permits decreased to a 597,000 annual pace. They were projected to fall to a 605,000 annual rate from 617,000 the prior month, according to the survey median. Construction of single-family houses decreased 4.9 percent to a 425,000 rate in July from the prior month, and permits rose 0.5 percent. Work on multi-family homes, such as townhouses and apartment builders, climbed 7.8 percent to an annual rate of 179,000. The regional breakdown saw huge swings among two of the four areas. Starts plunged 38 ...
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