WASHINGTON — Housing starts fell 2.6% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.331 million units, as the downswing in the housing market continued, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Starts were down 19.1% from a year earlier, falling to the lowest level in 12 years. Single-family construction was down 7.1%, or 27.1% from a year ago, while multi-family housing starts increased 12.8%, or 17.9% more than last August. Read more.