US single-family housing starts plunge; building permits hit 3-1/2-year low

Reuters reports that U.S. single-family housing starts fell 4.6% in September and permits for future construction fell 4% to a three-and-a-half-year low. Higher mortgage rates, energy and building-material costs, and labor constraints were described as pressures on construction.

The report links national statistics to the supply of homes households can buy, while noting that multifamily permits rose even as starts in that segment fell sharply year over year.