Home construction plunges 10.6 percent in October

WASHINGTON - Construction of new homes plunged last month as builders waited to see whether lawmakers would extend a tax credit for homebuyers.

The Commerce Department says construction of new homes and apartments fell 10.6 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529,000, from an upwardly revised 592,000 in September. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected a pace of 600,000.

But builders could ramp up in the coming months, since Congress earlier this month gave first-time buyers until April 30 to qualify for the credit of up to $8,000.

Applications for building permits, a gauge of future activity, fell 4 percent to an annual rate of 552,000 units, below the 580,000 that economists had expected.