US home construction starts plunged 10.8% in March and permits fell to a record low amid the prolonged property crisis, government data shows today.
The Commerce Department said housing starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 510,000 from a revised February estimate.
The pace was the second-lowest since the data was first published in 1959, after housing starts - or privately owned new homes on which construction has started - fell in January to a record low of 488,000.
The department sharply lowered its February estimate on starts, to a rate of 572,000 from a prior estimate of 583,000. March housing starts were 54.1% lower than a year ago.
In a grim sign of low expectations for a rebound in the depressed residential property sector, building permits plummeted 9% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 513,000, the lowest level since the data was first published in 1960.
The department revised higher the February rate of permits to 564,000. Most analysts had expected a slight increase in March permits, to 549,000.
On an annual basis, building permits were down 49.5% in March.
In a separate report, the Labor Department said the number of US workers filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell 53,000 last week to 610,000. But so-called continued claims rose to a fresh record of 6.02 million in the week ended April 4.
