By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - US housing starts plummeted 6.8% in July, hitting their lowest level since May 2020, according to data released Friday.
Housing starts, which measure the change in the number of new residential buildings beginning construction, stood at 1.238 million, according to the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The expectation for the figure was to come in at 1.34 million.
The June figure, meanwhile, was revised down from 1.353 million to 1.329 million, or from a gain of 3% to an increase of 1.1%.
Annually, housing starts in July were down 16%, compared to the same month last year when they stood at 1.473 million.
Building permits, a key indicator of market demand, decreased 4% monthly to 1.396 million in July.
That figure also came in lower than expectations of 1.43 million, while the June figure was revised up from 1.446 million to 1.454 million, or from a gain of 3.4% to an increase of 3.9%.
On an annual basis, building permits in July were down 7% from the same month in 2023 when they stood at 1.501 million.