WASHINGTON: US housing starts slid 6.2 percent in August to a fresh 17-year low, government data showed yesterday in a sign that the punishing correction in the real estate market is not over.
Starts for new home construction fell to an annualized level of 895,000 units, the Commerce Department said, well below market expectations of 950,000.
The level of starts is 33 percent below the pace of a year ago, a sign of the depth of the housing crisis, which has turned into a global financial maelstrom affecting the banks and others investing in the housing market.
The August drop followed a 12.4 percent tumble in July housing starts. Permits for new homes, a sign of future activity, fell 8.9 percent to 854,000 and were down 36 percent from a year ago.