Single-family housing starts declined further in September as high mortgage rates, ongoing building material production disruptions and flagging demand stemming from rising affordability challenges continue to put a damper on new home production. Overall housing starts decreased 8.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.44 million units in September, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The September reading of 1.44 million starts is the number of housing units builders would begin if development kept this pace for the next 12 months. Within this overall number, single-family starts decreased 4.7% to an 892,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate. Year-to-date, single-family starts are down 5.6%, and the pace of single-family permits has declined for seven straight months. The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, decreased 13.2% to an annualized 547,000 pace.