March housing construction plunges worse-than-expected amount to second lowest level on record

[marmar]

via Yahoo:




March housing construction falls 10.8 percent
March housing construction plunges worse-than-expected amount to second lowest level on record

Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer
Thursday April 16, 2009, 8:55 am EDT


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Housing construction plunged to the second lowest level on record in March, providing a sobering sign that the worst housing slump in decades has not yet ended.

The Commerce Department said Thursday construction of new homes and apartments dropped by 10.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 510,000 units. That was the second lowest construction pace in records that go back 50 years.

The decline was worse than economists had expected and February activity was revised lower as well. That is more evidence that the steep slump in housing, which was a major factor triggering the current recession, has yet to run its course.

The report showed that applications for building permits, considered a good barometer of future activity, also fell in March, dropping 9 percent to an annual rate of 513,000 units. That was lower than the 550,000 rate that economists had been expecting.

The drop in construction in March followed a 17.2 percent surge in February, an unexpected gain that was driven by a big increase in apartment activity, a sector that can be volatile from month to month. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/March-housing-construction-apf-14943610.html

[asthmaticeog]

1. Um, practically every city has more empty houses than it has homeless people.

Why do we need to be building more?

[xchrom]

2. recommend