Housing starts fell in August as multifamily starts plunged

Housing starts fell 2.6% in August to 1.275 million units, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and KSL.

Applications for building permits, a good indication of future activity, fell 2.7% to 1.394 million units in August.

Single-family housing starts rose 7.6% to a rate of 918,000 units. Multifamily starts fell 22.5% to a rate of 344,000 units. Building permits for single-family homes fell 1.8% to a rate of 878,000 units, and permits for multifamily homes fell 3.1% to a rate of 467,000 units.

The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.76% during the week ending Sept. 11; it averaged 5.98% at the end of February.