Home Construction Drops to Record Low

  WASHINGTON (AP) - A government report says construction of new
homes plunged 4.5 percent last month to the lowest level on
government records, as U.S. builders slashed production while Wall
Street nosedived.
    The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that construction of
new homes and apartments dropped more than expected to an annual
rate of 791,000 units from an upwardly revised September rate of
828,000 units. Previously, the slowest pace had been in January
1991, when the country was in recession and going through a similar
housing correction. The government’s records date back to 1959.
    Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected construction
to fall to a rate of 780,000 units. It was the fourth-straight
monthly drop.