Housing Continues to Plunge

Housing Continues to Plunge

Housing construction plunged to the lowest level in nearly a decade last month as the housing industry continued to struggle with a severe slowdown.

Across the country, the median home price is now $219,000, down 2.7 percent from a year ago.

Construction of new homes and apartments plunged by 14.3 percent in January, pushing total activity down to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.408 million units.

The weather was blamed for part of the setback. November and December had been unusually mild while more normal winter weather returned to much of the country in January, depressing building activity.