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Housing Starts Down 4.7 Percent in September, Commerce Department Reports

October 19, 2017

Photo: Pixabay

Construction of single-family houses in the South was unsettled by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, falling 15.3 percent; U.S. home building overall dropped to a one-year low in September. A report from the Commerce Department indicates housing likely dragged economic growth in the third quarter.

Also, housing starts decreased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.127 million units, and groundbreaking fell 9.3 percent in the South to the lowest level since October 2015, CNBC reports.

The report on Wednesday from the Commerce Department also showed a decline in building permits, raising concerns that the housing market recovery was stalling. Home building and sales are well below their peaks before the housing bubble burst in 2006.

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