US housing starts missed estimates for September in data released on Wednesday, even as they bounced from the prior month.

The figures came a day after an unfortunate read on the NAHB’s sentiment gauge showed the mood among builders was the most depressed since January this month, as persistently high rates eroded demand and pushed up costs.

Starts ran at a 1.358 million pace last month, the government’s report showed. That was slightly below consensus. The range, from five-dozen economists surveyed, was 1.155 million to 1.486 million.

August’s already large decline was revised to show an even deeper drop. Starts fell nearly 13% that month. September’s headline print represented a 7% increase from the prior month’s subdued pace.

Single-family starts rose to 963,000, and multifamily tried to rebound. Recall that multifamily starts dropped to a multi-year low in August.

Permits fell to a 1.473 million pace, down considerably from August’s 1.541 million, but ahead of estimates nevertheless.

Notably, single-family permits rose to a 965,000 pace, the briskest since May of 2022.

Single-family completions rose to 998,000, and multifamily to 455,000.

Meanwhile, mortgage applications plunged nearly 7% in the week to October 13, the MBA said. It was the largest WoW decline since April.

The MBA Composite Index hit its lowest level since 1995 as rates rose for a sixth week to 7.7%, the highest since November of 2000.

“Purchase applications were 21% lower than the same week last year, as home-buying activity continues to pull back given reduced purchasing power from higher rates and the ongoing lack of available inventory,” MBA VP Joel Kan remarked.