The number of new residential construction projects begun in the U.S. dropped by 5.3 percent between August and September, according to new data published by the U.S. Census Bureau. The number of new building permits issued also declined, by .6 percent, during the same timeframe. The rate of housing starts dropped the most in the Midwest (14 percent), followed by the South (13.7 percent), while rising in the Northeast by 29 percent and in the West by 6.6 percent.