Blame It on the Rain: Slump in Housing Starts Driven by Record Drop in the South

Silver Linings in Permits and Year-Over-Year Trends

By  ALAN ZIBEL and  KRIS HUDSON

WASHINGTON—U.S. home construction tumbled in June due to a stretch of wet weather in the South, a decline that analysts said was likely a temporary departure from a trend of recovery in the housing market.

Housing starts sank 9.3% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 893,000. It was the weakest showing since September 2013 and the second-straight monthly drop, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

Read More at: http://online.wsj.com/articles/housing-starts-sank-9-3-in-june-1405600397