The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for February 2008:

Building Permits
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 978,000. This is 7.8 percent below the revised January rate of 1,061,000 and is 36.5 percent below the revised February 2007 estimate of 1,541,000.
 
Single-family authorizations in February were at a rate of 639,000; this is 6.2 percent below the January figure of 681,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 295,000 in February.
 
Housing Starts
Privately-owned housing starts in February were …