Housing starts dip in August, but permits surge in sign of optimism
September 19, 2017 at 09:09 AM EDT
Construction on new houses in August fell slightly, but rising permits point to more building in the months ahead, especially for single-family homes. So-called housing starts slipped 0.8% to an annual rate of 1.18 million, but permits jumped 5.7% to 1.3 million.