House construction falls 8.5 percent

Home builders took a bit of a breather in June, sending housing construction down to its lowest level in just over a year. It was another sign that the economy slowed down last month.

The number of housing projects that builders broke ground on clocked in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.80 million units, an 8.5 percent drop from May’s level, the Commerce Department reported.

Although the 1.80 million pace was the lowest since May 2003 and was weaker than economists expected, it still represented a respectable level of activity.

Housing construction in May rose by 0.4 percent from the previous month, according to revised figures. That turned out to be stronger than the decline previously estimated.