Construction of new homes decline 11.5 percent in the northeast

Total housing starts dropped 5.3 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.850 million units, according to figures released by the Commerce Department. This was 11.0 percent below the pace of a year ago. Single-family housing starts were down 6.5 percent for the month to a pace of 1.486 million units, a 13.8 percent drop from the June 2005 pace. Multi-family housing construction was up 0.3 percent for the month to a seasonally adjusted pace of 364,000 units.

Three of four regions reported decreases in housing starts for the month. Construction of new homes and apartments was down 11.5 percent in the Northeast, 4.0 percent in the South and 10.2 percent in the West. Housing starts increased 3.0 percent in the Midwest in June following a large decline the previous month.