Housing Starts Slip 0.1 Percent

Home building leveled off as summer ended, and analysts suggested the housing industry had stabilized at a relatively strong pace.

Housing starts edged down a barely perceptible 0.1 percent in September, to a seasonally adjusted 1.390 million annual rate from 1.392 million in August, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The dip followed a 2.8 percent decline in July, the first in five months.

David F. Seiders, an economist with the National Association of Home Builders, noted that starts in the third quarter were up 9.4 percent from the average pace of the previous three months.

“The level of activity is quite a solid performance,” he said.

Most analysts attributed the spring and summer rebound from last winter’s slump to relatively low interest rates.