Single-family housing starts were down 6.5 percent for the month to a pace of 1.486 million units, a 13.8 percent drop from the June 2005 pace. Multifamily housing construction was up 0.3 percent for the month to a seasonally adjusted pace of 364,000 units.

?EUR??,,????'??NAHB?EUR??,,????'???s surveys of single-family builders have been showing a steady decline in confidence since the middle of last year, and builders are acting accordingly. They are slowing their production as market conditions and demand cool down,?EUR??,,????'?? said David Pressly, president of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Three of four regions reported decreases in housing starts for the month. Construction of new homes and apartments was down 11.5 percent in the Northeast, four percent in the South and 10.2 percent in the West. Housing starts increased three percent Midwest in June following a large decline the previous month.

?EUR??,,????'??The June declines in single-family starts and permits clearly show that the housing downswing still is underway, a pattern consistent with our signals from the field,?EUR??,,????'?? said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders.