[New home starts in the United States fell to a four-month low, one of the weakest levels since the epidemic] October 20th, New home starts in the United States fell to one of the weakest levels since the epidemic in September, and single-family residential building permits also declined, highlighting the continued downturn in the real estate market. Data released by the federal government on Tuesday showed that housing starts fell 5.2% to an annual rate of 1.22 million units, a four-month low and below economists' forecasts. Single-family housing starts fell to their lowest level in a year, and related residential building permit applications fell to their lowest level since early 2023. Building permits are a measure of future residential construction activity. Housing affordability issues are constraining sales in the residential real estate market, and further increases in mortgage rates are adding to the pressure. Homebuilder confidence has fallen to a 14-year low, and builders may be reluctant to start more new home construction until inventory digestion makes more progress. The report showed that new housing starts in multifamily projects, including apartments, fell nearly 7%. Sluggish homebuilding has weighed on economic growth in five of the past six quarters. Ahead of Tuesday's data, the Atlanta Fed's GDPNow model expected residential investment to fall at an annualized rate of 1.3% in the third quarter. Single-family home completions fell to their lowest level in more than six years in September.