US housing construction plunges (AFP)

Mar. 16, 2011 -- WASHINGTON (AFP) – Construction of new homes in the United States plunged in February to near record lows and building permits hit bottom, official data showed Wednesday in a dismal report on the ailing housing market.

Housing starts fell to an annual rate of 479,000, down 22.5 percent from January, the Commerce Department said.

That number was the lowest since April 2009., when housing starts were a rate of 477,000, the weakest pace since tracking of the data began in 1959. Economists at the time had estimated that it was the slowest pace in new housing construction since the 1940s.

Housing activity is not expected to pick up any time soon, according to the new data.