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Empresas y finanzas

Housing starts up in July, permits at 14-month low


    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Housing starts rose but to a much weaker rate than expected in July, while permits for future home construction fell to their lowest level in more than a year, according to a government report on Tuesday that pointed to a weak housing market.

    The Commerce Department said housing starts rose 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 546,000 units. June's housing starts were revised to show an 8.7 percent fall, which was previously reported as a 5 percent drop.

    Analysts polled by Reuters had expected housing starts to rise to 560,000 units. Compared to July last year, groundbreaking activity was down 7 percent.

    New building permits, which give a sense of future home construction, dropped 3.1 percent to a 565,000-unit pace last month, the lowest level since May 2009.

    That followed a 1.6 percent rise in June and compared to analysts' forecasts for a slip to 580,000 units.

    The end in April of a popular homebuyer tax credit has left a void in the housing market, depressing sales and building activity. Sentiment among home builders touched a 17-month low in August, a survey showed on Monday.

    The rise in housing start last month reflected a 32.6 percent surge in groundbreaking activity in the volatile multifamily segment to an annual rate of 114,000 units. Single-family homes starts fell 4.2 percent to a 432,000-unit pace, the lowest since May 2009.

    Home completions tumbled a record 32.8 percent to an all-time low 587,000-unit pace. The inventory of total houses under construction fell 1.1 percent to a record low 444,000 units last month, while the total number of units authorized but not yet started dropped 1.5 percent 89,000 units.

    (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)