Home-Building Falls to Nine-Year Low: Credit Crunch, Consumer Fears ...
Home construction plunged to a nine-year low during January, the Commerce Department said yesterday, as consumers battered by recession stopped buying and cash-strapped builders slashed projects.</br></br>850,000,	the lowest since 843,000 in January 1982. The January drop followed a revised 13.7 percent slide in December.</br></br>The dismal start to 1991 follows the building industry's worst performance last year since the 1981-82 recession.</br></br>No early end to the construction slump was in sight last month as applications for building permits skidded lower for the 12th straight month.</br></br>Analysts said the big decline in building activity was perplexing because interest rates are falling and home prices in many areas are softening. That was apparently outweighed by consumer fears about losing their jobs and developersÛª problems in getting bank loans.