Housing Starts Slide in March

Housing starts plummeted in March, according to Commerce Department data. Housing starts fell 8.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,089,000, well below economist projections. Housing permit authorizations also declined in March by 7.7 percent, indicating a cooling of momentum during the housing construction market’s busiest season.

Single family housing starts were at rate of 764,000 and 9.2 percent below February’s revised estimate. Single-family permit authorizations dropped 1.2 percent from February.