Housing Starts Fell 5.2 Percent in September, Census Estimates

New residential construction started in September fell an estimated 5.2 percent from August, after a revised 5.9 percent drop in August, the Census Bureau reported October 20. Census flags both changes as not statistically significant, meaning the true change could be zero, and monthly estimates are revised later. The 30-year mortgage rate averaged 7.40 percent in Freddie Mac's latest survey; the next one comes out Thursday.