WASHINGTON–Housing permits and starts dropped steeply again in February, providing additional evidence, if any is needed, that the nation’s housing market is continuing its downward spiral.
The number of permits issued to build new housing during the month settled at 978,000 at an annual rate, or 6.9 percent below those issued in January. Compared with February 2007, permits were in a freefall of 36.5 percent.
Likewise, actual construction on new housing, at 1.065 million units, was down 0.6 percent over the month, and down 28.4 percent on a year-over-year basis.
Regionally, permits were down both monthly and yearly across the country. Starts were down yearly all over, and monthly in all regions except the Midwest, where they were flat.