Housing construction, permits hit record lows

Don't believe the mantra of there are "green shoots" of economic recovery out there, it is all confidence building propaganda. It was the housing market that got us into this financial crisis and it will be housing that leads us out of it (or makes it worse). More important than housing starts is permits which forecasts future construction and that figure is at a record low.-Lou

Housing construction, permits hit record lows

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Housing construction plunged to a record low in April as a steep drop in apartment building offset a rebound in single-family construction. Permits for new projects also hit a new low.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that construction of new homes and apartments fell 12.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000 units, the lowest pace on records going back a half-century.

In a disappointing sign for the future, applications for new building permits dropped 3.3 percent to a new record low annual rate of 494,000.
Economists had expected home construction and building permits to post modest increases in April as signs that the worst collapse in housing activity in the post-World War II period was drawing to a close.

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