US housing dropped in September against estimates

US housing starts dropped unexpectedly last month, whereas building permits rose more than expected, official figures revealed on Wednesday. 
According to the US Department of Commerce, overall groundbreaking activity, however, declined 9.0% to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.05 million units last month, the lowest level since March 2015, while market analysts anticipated a slight increase to 1.18 million units during the reported period. 

August's housing starts were revised up to a 1.15 million rate from the originally reported pace of 1.14 million starts. And single-family housing starts jumped 8.1% to an annual 783,000 pace, the highest in seven months. As builders shift their focus to single-family construction away from apartments, it signals more confidence in the market for owner-occupied homes and generates more economic activity. The U.S. now has the most single-family homes under construction since October 2008. Meanwhile, the number of building permits issued rose 6.3% to a seasonally adjusted 1.225 million units last month from 1.152 million in August.