With weakness in all regions of the country except the Northeast, construction of new homes dropped 8.8 percent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1.09 million units in March, according to what heraldonline tells MHProNews, based on statistics from the Commerce Department. The slowest rate since October, it marked the third decline in the past four months.

Permits to build new homes fell 7.7 percent in March to an SAAR of 1.09 units. Single-family home construction also declined in March, falling 9.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 764,000. Multi-family construction also dropped in March, falling 7.9 percent to a 325,000 rate, leading to an overall drop of 8.8 percent, the biggest one-month decline since a fall of 11.3 percent in October.

Regionally, construction spiked in the Northeast 61.3 percent in March, while sales plummeted 25.3 percent in the Midwest, 15.7 percent in the West and 8.4 percent in the South. ##

(Image credit: housingwire)

Article submitted by Matthew J. Silver to Daily Business News-MHProNews.