WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Commerce has reported an 11 percent decline in housing starts from January's seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.82 million starts to a 1.62 million unit pace in February. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) attributed the drop to unusually cold and wet weather across much of the nation, combined with economic and job market weakness, and expectations of war in Iraq.
On the other hand, residential building permits — an indicator of future building activity —moved up slightly to a solid rate of 1.79 million units.