Home Construction Continues To Fall

Washington, DC, July 17, 2008--Construction of single-family homes fell in June to the slowest pace in 17 years, offset somewhat by a boost in apartment building, according to the Commerce Department.

Construction of single-family homes dropped by 5.3 percent in June to an annual rate of 647,000 units, the weakest performance since January 1991.

However, construction of apartments rose by 42.5 percent last month, due mostly to a change in New York City building codes that spurred a wave of apartment construction in that area.

The report showed that applications for building permits rose by 11.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.091 million units. Permits for multifamily construction soared by 39.4 percent while permits for single-family homes fell by 3.5 percent.