Home Building Apps at Slowest Pace Since 1993

Washington, DC, December 18, 2007--Construction of single family homes dropped to its lowest level in more than 16 years, according to the Commerce Department.

And applications for building permits fell for the sixth consecutive month to its slowest pace since 1993.

Construction of new homes and apartments dropped by 3.7 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.187 million units.

Construction of single-family homes was off by 5.5 percent to an annual rate of 829,000 units, the lowest level since April 1991, while multi-family construction was up 4.4 percent to an annual rate of 332,000 units.

Applications for building permits dropped 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.15 million units.

Home building overall was 24.2 percent below last year.