WASHINGTON - U.S. housing starts slipped 5.0% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 549,000 in June as home building permits increased 2.1% to 586,000, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.
The level of housing starts reached an eight-month low while the increase in building permits reversed two straight months of declines.
Building permits rose in the Northeast and West, but fell in the South and Midwest. Permits for single-family homes fell to 421,000, the third consecutive monthly decline. Total building permits for May were unrevised at 574,000.
Housing starts fell in all four U.S. regions. Single-family housing starts fell to 454,000, the lowest level in 13 months. May housing starts were revised lower to 578,000 from 593,000 reported last month.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected 580,000 housing starts and 570,000 building permits for the month, according to the median estimate.
The June inventory of new residential properties under construction fell to a record low of 450,000 from 476,000 in May, which was the previous record low. The data go back to 1970.
The June inventory of homes completed increased to 886,000, the highest level since December 2008.
For the year ending in June, building permits fell 2.3% and housing starts declined 5.8%.
