There were 9.9% fewer housing starts in June than there were in May, the U.S. Department of Commerce says, falling to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 836,000 units. Building permits were off by 7.5%, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Single-family-home starts were off by 0.8%, while multiunit starts dropped by 26%.
The housing industry has been looking healthier in recent months, and a day earlier, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo confidence index among builders rose six points to 57 for July. It was the third consecutive monthly gain and the highest confidence rating since January 2006.
The newspaper said rising mortgage rates and shortages of some supplies might be behind the slump. The Mortgage Bankers Association reports loan applications were off 2.6% from a week earlier.
The Journal quoted Moody’s economist Celia Chen as saying the dip was “probably more of a hiccup” in the industry’s recovery.
“This doesn’t suggest that the housing rebound is over,” she said.
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