P.M. BRIEFING : Housing Starts Decline 9.3%, Steepest Drop Since Jan., 1989

Housing starts fell 9.3% in March, their second consecutive monthly drop and the steepest in more than a year, as the pace returned to late 1989 levels after spurting during unusually warm weather in January and February, the government said today.

The Commerce Department said new homes and apartments were built at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.32 million units last month, down from a revised 1.46 million units in February. The February rate first had been reported at 1.48 million units.

The decline in starts in March was the biggest since a 12.4% drop in January, 1989.

Analysts had been expecting the drop after construction starts jumped 23.2% in January, the warmest on record, after declining 5.5% in December, the fourth coldest since the government began keeping records 96 years ago.

Although starts slipped 7.1% during February, they remained well above the level of the last 11 months of 1989 as the unusually warm weather continued. More normal temperatures returned in March and that, combined with double-digit mortgage rates, produced last month’s decline in construction, analysts said.