The Commerce Department reported on Thursday the building permits issued for privately owned housing units dropped by 2.7percent m-o-m in September to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.387 million, while housing starts fell by 9.4 percent m-o-m to an annual rate of 1.256 million.

Economists had forecast housing starts dropping to a pace of 1.320 million units last month and building permits falling to a pace of 1.350 million units.

Data for August was revised to show homebuilding growing to a pace of 1.386 million units, instead of decreasing at a rate of 1.364 million units as previously reported.

According to the report, permits for single-family homes, the largest segment of the market, increased 0.8 percent m-o-m at 882,000 in September (the highest level since February 2018), while approvals for the multi-family homes segment declined 8.2 percent m-o-m to a 505,000 unit-rate.

In the meantime, groundbreaking on single-family homes rose 0.3 percent m-o-m to a rate of 918,000 units in September (the highest level since January), while housing starts for the multi-family tumbled 28.2 percent m-o-m to a 338,000 -unit pace.