Housing starts down during March

Housing starts fell month-over-month in March:

Initial construction of U.S. homes fell more than expected in March, sinking to the second lowest level on record, according to a government report released Thursday.

Housing starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 510,000 last month, down nearly 11% from a revised 572,000 in February, according to the Commerce Department. February starts were originally reported at 583,000.

Starts have not been this low since January, when they fell to an annual rate of 477,000, which was the lowest since the government began keeping records in 1959. The March total was below the 540,000 rate economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast.