Housing Starts Plunge 13% to Record Low

New housing starts plunged 13% to a record low in April, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Starts fell to an annual rate of 458,000 units, led by a 46% decline in multifamily starts, Commerce said.

Single-family home construction rose 2.8% to a 368,000 annual rate.

Building permits, an indicator of new construction, fell 3.3%% to a record low pace of 494,000 units.

Housing starts were projected to increase to an annual rate of 520,000 units, while permits were forecast to rise to a 530,000 rate Bloomberg reported.