U.S. housing starts fall in March on apartment construction

WASHINGTON, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Overall U.S. new home construction dropped 0.8 percent for March, according to data released Tuesday from the U.S. Commerce Department.

That was because the construction of new apartment buildings dropped.

However, at the same time, March saw a 2.7 percent jump in the building of single-family homes.

Building permits fell significantly by 8.8 percent.

Building permits are a crucial indicator of future construction.