Housing Starts May Drop to 14-Year Low

November 17, 2007
Housing Starts May Drop to 14-Year Low

Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Housing starts in the U.S. fell to a 14-year low in October, signaling the real-estate slump will continue to weigh on growth, economists said before a report this week.

Construction fell 1.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.17 million homes, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before a Commerce Department report on Nov. 20. Building permits, an indicator of future activity, fell 2.1 percent to a 1.2 million pace, economists forecast.