Housing starts dropped in August, but building permits, an indicator of future construction activity, increased. The seasonally adjusted annual starts rate was 571,000, down 5.0 percent from the July rate of 601,000. The single-family starts rate dipped 1.4 percent, from 423,000 to 417,000 units, and the multifamily rate was off 13.5 percent, from 178,000 to 154,000 units. The eight-month starts total was 398,300 units, down from 414,100 from the same period last year. Single-family starts dropped from 336,400 to 291,400 units, while multifamily starts were up from 77,700 to 106,900 units.
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