"US Homebuilding Plunges 14.7% in Major Setback for Housing Market"
Housing starts plunged 14.7 percent in March, with multi-family construction notably weak over the past year, experiencing a 42.2 percent decline since January 2023. Single-family housing starts, on the other hand, increased by 24.2 percent during the same period. Building permits for privately-owned housing units also decreased by 4.3 percent in March, while single-family authorizations fell by 5.7 percent. Despite significant fluctuations, the data suggests a stagnant housing market, with expectations of continued weakness, particularly in the single-family sector.