By Steve Goldstein
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Housing starts slipped 1.5% in July, according to data released Tuesday that demonstrate the negative impact on demand for new houses that comes from cheaper foreclosed homes, underwater mortgages, tight lending standards and high unemployment. The Commerce Department said starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 604,000 from a downwardly revised 613,000 rate in June. Economists polled by MarketWatch had anticipated a 600,000 annualized rate for July, and many had thought June's initial reading of 629,000 was too strong. Single-family starts slipped 4.9% to 425,000 from a downwardly revised 447,000. Building permits, a less volatile statistic, fell 3.2% to an annual rate of 597,000 in July, and June's data also was downwardly revised, to 617,000 from 624,000. Demand for apartments stayed strong, with starts for structures with five or more units up 6.3%.
