US Housing Starts Fall 9%

US housing starts fell in September while applications for building permits increased compared with the prior month, the US Department of Commerce reported Wednesday, Xinhua reported. US privately-owned housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,047,000 last month, 9% below the revised August rate and 11.9% below last year’s level. Single-family housing starts in September stood at 783,000, 8.1% above the revised August figure of 724,000. Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits, were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,225,000, 6.3% above the revised August rate and 8.5% above the September 2015 estimate.