Unusually wet weather conditions across much of the country slowed the pace of homebuilding in September, but strong permit issuance and rising backlogs of unused permits indicate that builders are poised to pick up the pace in coming months, according to U.S. Commerce Department figures released recently.

The government reported that housing starts declined 6 percent from the best pace of the year to a still-solid rate of 1.9 million units on a seasonally adjusted annual basis in September. Meanwhile, issuance of new permits, which can be an indication of future building activity, rose 1.8 percent to an over 2 million-unit rate, and the number of permits that have been issued but not yet used rose to the highest level since the 1970s.

The 6 percent drop in nationwide housing starts was largely attributable to a 27 percent decline in the storm-weary Northeast, where lingering precipitation saturated many building sites. Starts also declined 4.6 percent in the Midwest, 8 percent in the West and 1 percent in the South-a region that includes hurricane-battered Florida but also many other less-affected states. On the single-family side, starts fell 8.2 percent, but on the multifamily side they rose 4.7 percent.

Meanwhile, building permits for single-family homes held firm at the previous month's impressive level, and permits for multifamily units gained 8.2 percent. Regionally, every part of the country reported gains in permits except the West, which had a marginal 1.3 percent decline.