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.
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