The Commerce Department reported on Wednesday the housing starts plunged by 7.0 percent m-o-m in July to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.534 million (the lowest level since April), while building permits rose by 2.6 percent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.635.

Economists had forecast housing starts decreasing to a pace of 1.600 million units last month and building permits growing to a pace of 1.610 million units.

Data for June was revised to show homebuilding increasing to a pace of 1.650 million units, instead of increasing at a rate of 1.643 million units as previously reported.

According to the report, permits for single-family homes, the largest segment of the market, fell 1.7 percent m-o-m in July, while approvals for the multi-family homes segment surged 11.2 percent m-o-m.

In the meantime, groundbreaking on single-family homes declined 4.5 percent m-o-m in July, while housing starts for the multi-family tumbled 13.6 percent m-o-m.