U.S. HOUSING STARTS LOWEST SINCE 1959

WASHINGTON (Houston Business Journal) – Home starts reached an annual rate of 791,000 last month, the lowest level since 1959, the U.S. Commerce Department reported this week.

The October rate plunged 4.5 percent from the revised reading of 828,000 in September.

Home starts rose 7.5 percent in the West and 1.5 percent in the South but dropped 31 percent in the Northeast and 13.7 percent in the Midwest.

Building permits fell 12 percent to an annual rate of 708,000 in October, breaking the previous low of 709,000 in March 1975.