Housing construction drops 12.8 percent in April

WASHINGTON - Housing construction plunged to a record low in April as a steep drop in apartment building offset a rebound in single-family construction.

The Commerce Department says construction of new homes and apartments fell 12.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000 units, the lowest pace on records going back a half-century.

Economists had expected home construction to post a modest increase in April as a sign that the worst collapse in housing activity in the post-World War II period was drawing to a close.