U.S. Housing Starts Plunge Much More Than Expected In July

(RTTNews) - New residential construction in the U.S. plummeted by much more than expected in the month of July, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday.

The Commerce Department said housing starts nosedived by 12.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.239 million in July after skyrocketing by 19.7 percent to a revised rate of 1.415 million in June.

Economists had expected housing starts to plunge by 5.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.350 million from the 1.427 million originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the report said building permits surged by 5.0 percent to an annual rate of 1.443 million in July after tumbling by 2.6 percent to a revised rate of 1.374 million in June.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected rise by 0.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.370 million from the 1.367 million originally reported for the previous month.