Construction Starts: Midwest is Second Best!

Not too bad of news for Midwest builders:

WASHINGTON (Department of Commerce, Associated Press) – The U.S. Department of Commerce reported construction of single-family homes fell by 5.4 percent to an annual rate of 829,000 units, the lowest level since April 1991.Multifamily construction was up 4.4 percent to an annual rate of 332,000 units.

The government also reported building permit applications fell for a sixth straight month, dropping by 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.15 million units, the slowest pace for building permits since June 1993.

Overall homebuilding was 24.2 percent below a year ago.This latest housing report shows last month’s construction activity down from October’s activity by 16.3 percent in the Northeast, 6.9 percent in the West, and 1.5 percent in the Midwest. Only the South gained a 0.3 percent month-to-month increase.

The entire report is available online.