Residential construction in the USA significantly fell in June

Washington - The start of new residential construction in the United States reported a deeper decline in June than expected, and the digging of foundations for single-family homes was the slowest in a year and a half. The number of housing starts fell by 5.3 percent from the previous month to a yearly rate of 1.850 million, wiping out the entire gain from May, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported today.
Economists surveyed by Reuters expected June housing starts to drop to 1.90 million from May's 1.957 million. Compared to the previous year, housing starts were down 11 percent.
Foundation digging for single-family homes dropped by 6.5 percent from May to 1.486 million, the lowest since November 2004. The number of starts for multi-family homes rose slightly.
The number of issued permits, which is a signal of future development, fell by 4.3 percent to 1.862 million, the lowest since May 2003. Economists had expected a more moderate decline to 1.920 million. Year-on-year, the number of permits issued was down 14.9 percent.
The American housing market is significantly cooling this year under the influence of rising mortgage rates. In the first half of the year, month-to-month growth in housing starts occurred only in January and May.