Housing construction plummets 6.2 pct. in August (AP)

WASHINGTON - Construction of new homes and apartments fell to the lowest level in 17 years last month, showing the country is still gripped by a severe housing downturn that has triggered billions of dollars of losses and is reshaping the structure of U.S. finance.

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The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that housing construction dropped a surprise 6.2 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 895,000 units. That's the slowest building pace since January 1991, another period when housing was going through a painful correction. The decline is larger than the 1.6 percent drop analysts expected and showed weakness in all the country except the West.

Full Story: Housing construction plummets 6.2 pct. in August (AP)

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