Housing Stars Fall 10.8% in March

New housing starts fell 10.8% in March after rising in February, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The decline left starts at an annual rate of 510,000 units, Commerce said. Building permits, an indicator of new construction, fell 9% to an annual pace of 513,000 units.

Starts were projected to fall to an annual rate of 540,000 units, while permits were forecast to fall to a 549,000 rate Bloomberg reported.