Construction of new homes in the country fell in August by 0.8%, to reach an annual rate of 1.180 billion units, the Housing Department reported today.
This is the second consecutive monthly decline, following the fall of 5.7% in July.
The number of new construction in July, meanwhile, was slightly revised upwards, from the annual rate of 1,150,000 million units previously calculated, to 1,190,000 million.
However, the August figure is 1.4% higher than the same month of 2016, when the pace of new home construction was at 1,160,000 million units.
By categories, new single-family homes grew by 17% in August and were at an annual rate of 851,000, while housing in buildings with five or more units fell by 5.8% to a rate of 323,000.
Permits processed for new works, an indicator of future demand, rose in August by 5.7% compared to the previous month, and were at an annual rate of 1,300,000 units.
The report had no significant impact from hurricanes Harvey in Texas and Louisiana and Irma in Florida but is expected to affect housing construction in September.
