Housing Starts Fall

Single-family housing starts fell 11% in November as the hurried pace of housing construction finally took a breather.The U.S. Census Bureau reported that single-family starts fell from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.64 million in October to 1.45 million in November. National Association of Home Builders economists have been expecting a slowdown for some time, and they expressed surprise at the 5.7% jump in October to a 1.64 million rate. They deemed 1.54 million a more sustainable pace -- which on a chart would level out the jump in October and the drop in November. Despite a slower pace, "we are still on track for a record year in single-family starts," NAHB economist Michael Carliner said. The Census Bureau also reported that multifamily starts dropped 19.3% in November to 288,000.