New housing construction fell to the lowest level in 17 years in August, according to a U.S. Commerce Department report released Wednesday.
Commerce said housing construction dropped 6.2 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 895,000 units, the slowest pace since January 1991, another housing correction.
The decline is larger than the 1.6 percent drop that analysts expected and reflects slowdowns all over the country.
Construction fell by 14.5 percent in the Northeast and was down 13.6 percent in the Midwest and 7.4 percent in the South. Only the West held steady.
Source: The Associated Press, Martin Crutsinger (09/17/2008)
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