ANKARA

US housing starts fell in April after posting a rise in the two previous months, according to a report Wednesday by the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The figure, which measures the change in the number of new residential buildings beginning construction, came in above 1.72 million, slightly falling 0.2% from a month ago.

On an annual basis, the leading indicator of the housing industry represented a 14.6% increase from April 2021.

Building permits, a key indicator for demand in the market, slipped 3.2% month-on-month to 1.8 million.

The March figure was revised to almost 1.88 million.

Annually, building permits posted a 3.2% gain from April 2021.