According to the Census Bureau’s report, Housing Starts of single-family homes fell to 417,000 units on a seasonally-adjusted, annual basis. The figure marks a 9 percent drop-off from November, and is the lowest reading since May 2009.

The number of single-family Housing Starts increased in November, adding 30,000 units as compared to October.

Newspaper stories can be misleading sometimes — especially with respect to real estate. We saw a terrific example of this Wednesday.

According to the Commerce Department, the number of single-family Housing Starts increased to 452,000 units in September, a 19,000 improvement over August.

The number of single-family Housing Starts rebounded in August, climbing 4 percent from July’s 14-month low.

Sometimes, you need to look deeper than the headlines to get the news that matters. This basic truth’s latest example comes from the July Housing Starts data, as published by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Single-family Housing Starts eased lower last month, falling by 0.7 percent from May, or 3,000 units nationwide.

Single-family housing starts plummeted to a one-year low in May, just 30 days after soaring to a 20-month high. It’s no wonder home builders are confused.

A Housing Start is a new home on which construction has started and, over the last 6 months, home builders are averaging one half-million starts per month. This marks the highest 6-month average since 2008 and a reading one-fifth percent better from 12 months ago. Revisions to prior data have all been higher, too.

Single-family Housing Starts idled last month, dropping just 3,000 units from the month prior, or 0.2%. According to the Commerce Department’s report, February marked the 8th straight month in which Housing Starts straddled the half-million marker, dating back to June 2009.