Housing starts and permits for September plunged to their lowest levels, according to a Commerce Department report released this morning.

  • Housing starts dropped 10 percent last month to an annual pace of 1.191 million units, a 14-year low.
  • Building permits fell 7 percent last month to an annual rate of 1.226 million units. That’s the sharpest drop since 1993.

    In further details, construction of single-family homes fell 2 percent to a 963,000 rate. Work on multifamily homes dropped 34 percent to 228,000 rate.

    Housing starts fell 28 percent in the Midwest, 12 percent in the South and 10 in the West. In the Northeast, however, starts increased 45 percent.