Approvals of units in buildings with five units or more tumbled 12.4% to 408,000 and single-family permits dipped a much less dramatic 0.1% to 938,000.

Elsewhere, US housing starts fell by 6.8% to 1.23m in July, the sharpest decline seen since March and in sharp contrast to, and completely erasing, June's 1.1% increase.

The decline was principally due to a 14.1% slump in starts of buildings with one unit, offsetting an 11.7% increase in units with fie or more units.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com