Construction hits 16-year high

Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2003 | 9:13 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Construction of new homes and apartments rose in January to the highest level in 16 years as low mortgage rates continued to power a housing boom, the government reported today.

The Commerce Department said that work was started on 1.850 million units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in January, up 0.2 percent from 1.847 million units in December.

The gain reflected the fact that low mortgage rates, which fueled record sales of both new and existing homes in 2002, remained at enticing levels in January.

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