Building Permits are down 5.0% and Housing Starts dropped 5.5% today, compared to this time last month.  That’s the slowest that the new construction market has been since last summer, and is also the third straight month of decline.  Most of the slowing has been occurring in the multi-family apartment buildings; single family construction has not suffered quite as much.

The downturn in new builds along with a slowing tech sector in stocks is helping mortgage bonds stay above the 200 day moving average: a good indicator that interest rates are staying low for now.