Housing Starts, Building Permits Decline

Housing starts fell in November and building permits, an indicator of future construction, plunged to the lowest level in 14 years, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

The 3.7% decline left the annual rate at 1.187 million homes, while building permits fell 1.5% to a 1.152 million pace, Commerce said.

Construction of single-family homes fell 5.5% to an annual rate of 829,000 units, the lowest level since April 1991, while multi-family construction was up 4.4% to a rate of 332,000 units, the Associated Press reported.