Construction drop in September

Source: Construction Digital

Date :10/20/2008 7:04:39 AM

The Commerce Department has said US construction of new homes dropped by 6.3 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 817,000 units, the lowest point since January 1991.

The 6.3 percent slump in housing starts was much bigger than the expected percentage of 1.6.

The report showed that single-family housing starts plunged by 12.0 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 544,000 units. Multi-family housing starts, however, rose by 5.8 percent to an annual rate of 254,000 units.

By region, new home construction decreased by 20.9 percent in the Northeast and by 16.8 percent in the West. But construction in the Midwest increased by 5.6 percent, while the South saw housing starts edge up by 0.5 percent last month.