New Construction Falls in December

Construction of new homes and apartments fell slightly in December but managed a 2.2% increase for all of last year, a noteworthy achievement considering that housing is usually one of the industries hardest hit during a recession.

Construction of new homes and apartments fell 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.57 million units in December, led by a 22.6% plunge in apartment construction, the Commerce Department said. The decline was led by a 22.6% plunge in apartment construction; single-family home construction managed to increase 3.6%.

For all of 2001, housing construction rose 2.1% to 1.6 million units, the third-best performance in the last 15 years.

The West was the only region of the country showing an increase in housing starts for December, with a rise of 8.3%.