U.S. Home Starts Fall From 12-Year High on Multifamily Drop

U.S. new-home construction in September pulled back from a 12-year high though the key single-family category was stable, signaling the housing market is firming amid low mortgage rates and steady demand.

Residential starts fell 9.4% to a 1.26 million annualized rate on weakness in the multifamily category after an upwardly revised 1.39 million pace in the prior month, according to government figures released Thursday that missed estimates in Bloomberg’s survey. Permits, a proxy for future construction, dropped 2.7% to a 1.39 million rate that exceeded estimates.