Single-family housing starts hit their lowest mark in more than three years in July as an ongoing contraction in new home construction deepened last month.
The annual pace of single-family starts plunged 10% from June to land at 808,000, more than 15% below year-ago levels, according to estimates published Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development.
July’s slump pushed single-family starts down 7% year to date, reflecting declines of nearly 15% in the Northeast, 6% in the Midwest, 4.6% in the South and 11% in the West.
A slight rise in permitting activity offered a silver lining in Tuesday’s release as the pace of single-family authorizations rose 2.5% over the month to approach 1.1% growth from year-a...