The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that new residential construction in October fell 4.2% from the previous month to 1.425 million units.
The figures for housing starts were impacted by an increase in the price of building materials and the rebound in mortgage rates.
Single-family housing starts fell 6.1% to 855,000 units, the lowest level since May 2020, while construction of multifamily housing, which includes apartments and condominiums, fell 0.5% to 556,000 units.
Building permits fell 2.4% in October to 1.526 million units. Single-family building permits fell 3.6% to 839,000 units, while multifamily permits fell 1.9% to 633,000 units.