Housing market declines in April; NAHB predicts continued "evolving slowdown"

The new housing market began to soften in April, according to figures recently released by the Commerce Department. Total housing starts for the month fell 7.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.849 million units, according to the report. Year to date, new home construction for the first four months of the year were also down, with an 0.8 percent drop compared to the first four months of 2005.

Both single and multifamily housing starts fell: single-family starts dropped 5.6 percent to a pace of 1.535 million units, while multifamily housing construction plummeted 15.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 314,000 units. The National Association of Home Builders said the declining market was a natural response to "evolving market conditions."