U.S. construction of new homes fell by 4.5 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 791,000 units, the lowest level on government records dating back to 1959, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
It was the fourth-straight monthly drop in housing starts. The October drop followed an upwardly revised September rate of 828,000 units.
Previously, the slowest pace had been in January 1991, when the country was in recession and going through a similar housing correction.
The report showed that single-family housing starts declined 3.3 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 531,000 units. Multi-family housing starts, meanwhile, fell by 5.7 percent to an annual rate of 247,000 units.
By region, new home construction plunged by 31.0 percent in the Northeast and by 13.7 percent in the Midwest. But construction in the West rose by 7.5 percent and the South saw housing starts increased by 1.5 percent last month.
Permits for future groundbreaking, an indicator of builder confidence, plummeted 12.0 percent last month to an annual rate of708,000 units, a new record low pace.
The U.S. housing industry is suffering its worst slump in decades. The severe housing downturn and a persisting credit crunch has been a major drag on the overall economy.
Many economists believe that the economic activity will continue to contract in the final quarter of this year, following a negative annual growth rate of 0.3 percent in the July-to-September period.
Source:Xinhua
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