U.S. housing starts plunged to the second-lowest level on record in March, reversing a surprising surge the previous month, the government reported Thursday, deflating hopes that housing-market stability was near. The Commerce Department said Thursday that construction of new homes and apartments fell 10.8 percent last month to an annual rate of 510,000 units, the second-lowest level on records that go back to 1959. March's decline was worse than economists had expected. Applications for building permits—seen as a gauge of builder confidence—fell a bigger-than-expected 9 percent last month to a record low of 513,000. Economists noted the big swings in housing starts last month occurred in the volatile apartment sector, which tumbled 29 percent to an annual rate of 152,000 units after surging 62 percent in February. The much bigger single-family home sector actually stabilized in March at an annual rate of 358,000 units, the same level as February. The decline in housing starts follows recent data that had shown some signs that the 16-month-old recession was moderating slightly. Housing is at the center of the slump, which is on track next month to become the longest since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
