Homebuilding unexpectedly slumped in October, as builders got started on the fewest homes in three months.

Homebuilders began projects at a rate of 1.31 million units per year, down from 1.35 million in September, according to seasonally-adjusted figures from the Census Bureau Tuesday. That was the lowest since August and below the 1.34 million forecasters had expected, according to a survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

The downtick is the latest setback for a market that's starved for new housing but smothered by high prices and mo♛rtgage rates.

"Although the overall economy is holding up better than expected, the interest-sensitive housing sector continues to take a beating," Priscilla Thiagamoorthy, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a commentary.

The number of building permits, a sign of future construction activity, also fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.42 million from 1.43 million in September.

The downturn may only be temporary. Builders may have been stalled 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:by hurricanes and uncertainty about the outcome of the presidential election, Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial, said in a commentary. Homebuilder confidence 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:surged in November after President Donald Trump's election made tax increases for high-income homebuyers far less likely.