Housing Starts Hit Lowest Level Since 1991

Washington, D.C.–Housing starts fell to their lowest level in 17 years in March, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.U.S. homebuilder starts fell 11.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 947,000–the lowest housing start rate since 1991, according to MarketWatch. Compared to a year ago, starts fell 36.5 percent.Building permits also declined 5.8 percent to 927,000 last month–a 40.9 percent drop from March 2007.Last month, multifamily unit starts plummeted 24.6 percent; multifamily permits declined 5 percent.New home completions dropped to their lowest level since December 1995–a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.22 million.In all four regions, starts dropped. In the Northeast, starts declined by 8.5 percent; in the Midwest, they fell by 21.4 percent–the lowest level since 1982. Starts dropped to the lowest level since 1993–12.6 percent–in the South. In the West, starts fell by 5.7 percent.