March Housing Construction Falls 10.8 Percent

MARTIN CRUTSINGER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Housing construction plunged to the second lowest level on record in March, reversing a big jump from the previous month. Economists, however, were heartened by indications that the long slide in single-family construction could be coming to an end.

The Commerce Department said Thursday construction of new homes and apartments dropped 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 also was revised lower. Applications for building permits fell 9 percent in March to a record low of 513,000 units.

But economists noted the big movements in construction starts in March occurred in the volatile apartment sector, which plunged 29 percent to an annual rate of 152,000 units after having surged 62.1 percent in February.

The much larger single-family sector actually stabilized in March at an annual rate of 358,000 units, the same level as February when single-family starts managed a small 0.6 percent rise.