Housing starts slide 11.9% in March

The real estate market has borne the brunt of much of the economic turmoil, and it appears that its woes aren’t yet over. U.S. housing starts totaled 947,000 last month, according to a government report released today by the Department of Commerce. That represents an 11.9% drop from February and a 36.5% drop from March 2007. Single-family starts fell 5.7% last month from February, while permits for such houses fell 6.2%. Starts for multifamily houses fell by 24.6% from February, while permits fell by 5%. The decline was a nationwide phenomenon. Starts fell 21.4% in the Midwest from February, 12.6% in the South, 8.5% in the Northeast and 5.7% in the West. The completion of new homes nationwide fell by 2.7% from February to 1.22 million, the lowest level since December 1995. The number of housing permits issued also dropped last month to 927,000, down 5.8% from February and 40.9% from March 2007.