U.S. Housing Starts Fell 5% to 549,000 in June

U.S housing starts fell 5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 549,000 in June as apartment construction and single-family houses dropped.

The number of single-family housing starts fell 0.7% to an annual rate of 454,000, the Commerce Department said in a statement.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected housing starts to fall 3.2% to 574,000.

Still, there was some good news: privately owned housing units authorized by building permits rose 2.1% to an annual rate of 586,000 in June.