U.S. building starts declined in October

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Privately owned housing starts fell 4.5 percent in the United States in October, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of 791,000 starts compares with a revised figure of 828,000 starts in September and comes in 38 percent below the October 2007, when 1.275 million housing starts were recorded.

Building permits issued in October were 12 percent below September's revised seasonally adjusted rate of 708,000, the report said.

Housing completions also fell in October, down 10.2 percent in the month and 25.6 percent from a year ago. In the month, 1.043 million privately owned construction projects were completed.