Hurricane Florence devastation added to drop in home building: report

Housing starts across the United States dropped in September, largely due to a decline in the south after Hurricane Florence tore through the Carolinas.

Government figures show that residential home construction dropped 13.7 percent in the south, including North Carolina, where the devastating hurricane made landfall last month, according to Bloomberg.

The figures come as the damage toll is still being calculated, which includes up to $1.5 billion worth of securitized commercial mortgages. Thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed and more than 50 people killed after the Category 1 storm made landfall.

Across the country, residential starts fell 5.3 percent to 1.2 million last month.

Multifamily construction recorded the most significant drop, with a 15.2 percent decline nationwide.

Despite the decline in September construction, American homebuilders are feeling more confident, following a overall rise in consumer demand and drop in lumber prices, according to a recent report by the National Association of Homebuilders and Wells Fargo. [Bloomberg] — David Jeans