Those monster houses dubbed McMansions are still rising around the U.S. But the overall rate of new residential construction continues to fall.
Starts of privately owned homes slowed to an annual rate of 1.795 million in July, 2.5% lower than the revised June rate of 1.841 million, the U.S. Commerce Department and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly reported on August 16.
July's start rate also was below economists' expectations; they foresaw a 1.81 million rate.
Starts for single-family homes were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.452 million in July, 2.3% below June's figure of 1.486 million. Starts for multi-family buildings were at an annual rate of 264,000 in July, down 15.4% from June's 312,000 rate.
What's more, U.S. housing starts are likely to continue to slow. Building permits for privately owned housing units fell to an annual rate of 1.747 million, 6.5% below June's revised rate of 1.869 million.
