Housing Starts Drop Five Percent in August

Privately-owned housing starts in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 571,000, five percent below the revised July estimate of 601,000 and 5.8 percent below the Aug. 2010 rate of 606,000, according to the most recent housing data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Single-family housing starts in August were at a rate of 417,000,1.4 percent below the revised July figure of 423,000. The August rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 148,000.

Privately-owned housing completions in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 623,000, 2.7 percent below the revised July estimate of 640,000, but 2.6 percent above the Aug. 2010 rate of 607,000.

Single-family housing completions in August were at a rate of 477,000, 0.2 percent below the revised July rate of 78,000.