WASHINGTON - Home construction plunged last month to the lowest level since October as the economy remained weak and demand for housing plummeted.
But driving the June decline was a more than 20 percent drop in condominium and apartment construction, which makes up a small but volatile portion of the housing market. Construction of single-family homes, the largest part of the market, was down slightly. It dropped 0.7 percent.
Overall, construction of new homes and apartments in June fell 5 percent from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 549,000, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. May's figure was revised downward to 578,000.
Homebuilders are struggling to compete with a glut of homes on the market, many of them foreclosures or deeply discounted properties.
The number of foreclosures could rise even faster, according to a new report on the Obama administration's flagship effort to help those at risk of losing their homes. More than 40 pe