HOME builders finished their strongest annual performance in six years on a down note last month, latest government figures show.
Over last year as a whole, home construction advanced 12.9 per cent to 1.45 million new starts, the best showing since 1988, according to the Commerce Department.
The economy last year generated the most new jobs in a decade, and analysts said that helped consumers feel more confident about buying homes.
However, new housing construction fell one per cent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.52 million - the second drop in three months.
Most of the weakness was in the Midwest and Northeast. Construction of flats also fell.
Even so, last month's decline was less than the 4.2 per cent drop analysts expected.
